• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.25-32
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the radiological and clinical outcomes in elderly patients with unstable intertrochanteric femur fractures in accordance with the length of intramedullary nail. Materials and Methods: Between August 2009 and December 2014, a total of 139 patients-older than 65 years of age with AO/OTA classification of 31-A2 unstable intertrochanteric femur fracture-who has been followed-up for at least 1 year after the treatment with internal fixation by using an intramedullary nail were enrolled for this retrospective control study. The subjects were classified into two groups according to the length of intramedullary nail: 106 patients in the short group (group I) and 33 patients in the long group (group II). For radiological assessments, the reduction state, time to union, and implant related complications were examined. The clinical outcomes were assessed by preoperative hemoglobin, operating time, intraoperative bleeding amount, blood transfusion rate, hospitalization period, and Charnley hip pain scoring system at the final follow-up. Results: The postoperative radiographs showed good or acceptable reduction in all cases. The mean time of radiologic bone union was 4.8 months, and there was no difference between the two groups. With respect to surgical time, the group II was found to take longer (57.87 minutes) than the group I (45.65 minutes) (p=0.003). The bleeding amount during surgery of the group II was greater (288.78 ml) than that of the group I (209.90 ml) (p=0.046). The clinical results at the final follow-up were found to be satisfactory in both groups. Conclusion: In cases of good reduction of the fracture from the treatment of unstable intertrochanteric femur fracture accompanying the posteromedial fragment in elderly patients, both groups-long and short intramedullary nails-showed satisfactory radiological and clinical outcomes.