Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39236262›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews2024

A Scoring System for Predicting Nonunion After Intramedullary Nailing of Femoral Shaft Fractures.

Kent R Kraus, Joshua W Flores, James E Slaven, Ishani Sharma, Payton K Arnold, Brian H Mullis, Roman M Natoli

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Body mass index, weight bearing, and delayed union after femoral shaft fracture nailing: a retrospective cohort study.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2026
    Article
  4. Observational
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

7 authors.

Kent R KrausFrom the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery (Dr. Kraus, Dr. Flores, Dr. Mullis, and Dr. Natoli), the Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science (Dr. Slaven), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN (Dr. Sharma and Dr. Arnold); and the Indiana University Health Physicians, Indianapolis, IN (Dr. Mullis and Dr. Natoli).
Joshua W Flores
James E Slaven
Ishani Sharma
Payton K Arnold
Brian H Mullis

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionFemoral shaft nonunion negatively affects patient quality of life. Although multiple risk factors have been identified for femoral shaft nonunion after intramedullary nail (IMN) fixation, there is no quantitative model for predicting nonunion. STUDY DESCRIPTION: The study is a retrospective cohort study of patients with femoral shaft fractures treated at two level one trauma centers who were followed to fracture union or nonunion. Patient, injury, and surgical characteristics were analyzed to create a quantitative model for nonunion risk after intramedullary nailing.

methodsEight hundred one patients aged 18 years and older with femoral shaft fractures treated with reamed, locked IMNs were identified. Risk factors including demographics, comorbidities, surgical variables, and injury-related characteristics were evaluated. Multivariate analysis was conducted, and several variables were included in a scoring system to predict nonunion risk.

resultsThe overall nonunion rate was 7.62% (61/801). Multivariate analysis showed significant association among pulmonary injury (odds ratio [OR] = 2.19, P = 0.022), open fracture (OR=2.36, P = 0.02), current smoking (OR=3.05, P < 0.001), postoperative infection (OR=12.1, P = 0.007), AO/OTA fracture pattern type A or B (OR=0.43, P = 0.014), and percent cortical contact obtained intraoperatively ≥25% (OR=0.41, P = 0.021) and nonunion. The scoring system created to quantitatively stratify nonunion risk showed that a score of 3 or more yielded an OR of 6.38 for nonunion (c-statistic = 0.693, P < 0.0001).

conclusionsFemoral shaft nonunion risk is quantifiable based on several independent injury, patient, and surgical factors. This scoring system is an additional tool for clinical decision making when caring for patients with femoral shaft fractures treated with IMNs.

Indexed as

Femoral FracturesFracture Fixation, IntramedullaryFractures, UnunitedAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID39236262
PMCPMC11377095

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Registered trials

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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.