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. 2020 Aug 29:22:377-382.
doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2020.08.030. eCollection 2020 Nov-Dec.

Short or long intramedullary devices for hip fracture? A systematic review of the evidence

Piers R J Page  1 , William E C Poole  2 , Kanishk Shah  3 , Piyush K Upadhyay  4
Affiliations

Short or long intramedullary devices for hip fracture? A systematic review of the evidence

Piers R J Page et al. J Orthop. .

Abstract

Trochanteric hip fractures may be fixed with either sliding hip screws or intramedullary devices. Current UK guidance is that intramedullary fixation should be used for AO/OTA 31A3 fractures but does not stipulate length of nail. We present a systematic review comparing short and long nails for these injuries in older patients. Three studies were randomized, all with methodological concerns. None demonstrated a clinically significant difference in outcome. There is no good evidence to support long over short intramedullary devices in this scenario. Evidence is required to demonstrate whether the potentially increased surgical risk confers any benefits in this group.

Keywords: Cephalomedullary; Fragility fracture; Hip fracture; Intramedullary; Osteoporosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of studies in review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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