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ArticleEuropean journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie2024

Total femoral spanning for distal femur "fragility" fractures utilising nail-plate fixation "short-term experience of a district general hospital".

Amin Kheiran, Mohamed Elbashir, Colin McDonald, Hassan Elsayed, Nomaan Sheikh, Christos Plakogiannis

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Article in European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Outcome of surgical fixation of interprosthetic femur fractures: a case series in a district general hospital.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2025
    Article
  2. Osteoporotic Distal Femur Fractures: An Overview.Indian journal of orthopaedics · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Amin KheiranDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Kettering General Hospital, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, UK.
Mohamed ElbashirDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Kettering General Hospital, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, UK.
Colin McDonaldDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Kettering General Hospital, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, UK.
Hassan ElsayedDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Kettering General Hospital, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, UK.
Nomaan SheikhDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Kettering General Hospital, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, UK.
Christos PlakogiannisDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Kettering General Hospital, Rothwell Rd, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, UK. christos.plakogiannis@nhs.net.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-5320-2500

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeOur primary objective was to investigate the time to radiological union following linked nail-plate fixation of distal femur "fragility" fractures. Secondary objectives were to evaluate all-cause reoperations, 90-day mortality, rate of blood transfusion and the impact on quality of life.

methodsIn this retrospective study of all adults (≥ 65 years) with native or periprosthetic distal femur fragility fractures, underwent a linked nail-plate fixation, data were retrieved on fracture classifications, clinical frailty score, blood transfusion, length of hospital stay, 90-day mortality, time to radiological union, overall complication rates and EuroQoL-5D.

resultsIn total, 18 out of 23 patients completed sequential follow-up. Radiological union was observed in 14 patients (median 143 days; range 42-414). Three patients underwent reoperations. There were no implant failures or a subsequent periprosthetic fractures. Ninety-day mortality was 17.4%. Eighteen patients required blood transfusion. The QoL was significantly lower after index surgery (0.875 vs. 0.684; p < 0.01).

conclusionBased on our observation, with short-term follow-up, the linked nail-plate yields optimal stability to allow immediate weight bearing, in a cohort with moderate frailty. It is reproducible, with variable radiological union rates. The concept of "total femoral spanning" reduces the risk of subsequent periprosthetic fractures. The additional intervention has increased the rates of allogenic blood transfusion. There is significant impact on overall QoL, with almost 50% being more dependent in self-care.

Indexed as

Bone NailsBone PlatesFemoral FracturesHospitals, GeneralQuality of LifeReoperationAgedAged, 80 and overBlood TransfusionFemaleFracture Fixation, InternalFracture Fixation, IntramedullaryFracture HealingHospitals, DistrictHumansLength of StayDistal femur fragility fracturesImmediate weight bearingLinked nail–plateTotal femoral spanning

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.