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BACKGROUND: Between 2 to 10% of non-displaced femoral neck fractures (nFNF) cannot be diagnosed on plain radiographs and require further imaging investigation to be detected or verified. These fractures are referred to as occult hip fractures. This study aimed to report treatment failures, reoperations and mortality in a consecutive series of occult femoral neck fractures (FNF) treated with internal fixation (IF).

METHODS: A retrospective multicenter study was performed based on a consecutive series of patients aged ≥ 60 years with an occult magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) verified Garden I and II FNF sustained after a trauma and treated with primary IF. We included 93 patients with a minimum 2-year follow-up. Radiographic assessment encompassed pre- and postoperative tilt, implant inclination, MRI and treatment failure. Data on reoperation and mortality were collected. Treatment failure was defined as fixation failure, nonunion, avascular necrosis or posttraumatic osteoarthritis.

RESULTS: The study comprised of 93 patients (72% women, 67/93) with a mean age of 82 (range, 60-97) years. Overall, 6 (6%) patients had major reoperations. 2 (2%) had minor reoperations. One-month mortality was 7%, 1-year mortality was 20% and 2-year mortality was 31%.

CONCLUSION: This multicenter cohort study identifies a subgroup of elderly patients with MRI verified Garden I and II FNFs sustained after trauma, i.e. occult fractures. These fractures seem to have a lower complication rate compared to nFNF identified on plain radiographs.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic Level V. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of preoperative fracture tilt and to scrutinize the effect of anterior tilt on the risk of treatment failure in patients with Garden Type-I and II femoral neck fractures that are treated with internal fixation.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was performed on a consecutive series of patients ≥60 years of age who had undergone primary internal fixation for the treatment of Garden Type-I and II femoral neck fractures. The study included 1,505 patients with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. Radiographic assessments encompassed preoperative and postoperative tilt, implant inclination, and treatment failure. Data on reoperation and mortality were collected. The risk of treatment failure was assessed with use of Cox proportional hazard regression analysis.

Results: The study comprised 1,505 patients (71% female) with a median age of 81 years (range, 60 to 108 years). Overall, 234 patients (16%) were classified as having a treatment failure and 251 patients (17%) underwent reoperation. A preoperative anterior tilt of >10° and a posterior tilt of >20° were predictors of treatment failure and reoperation, respectively. Treatment failure occurred in 74 (25%) of 301 patients with a posterior tilt of >20° and in 17 (43%) of 40 patients with an anterior tilt of >10°.

Conclusions: This multicenter cohort study identified a subgroup of patients with Garden Type-I and II femoral neck fractures with an anterior tilt of >10° as having high treatment failure rates and major reoperation rates comparable with those associated with displaced femoral neck fractures. A preoperative posterior tilt of >20° increases the risk of treatment failure, and the potential benefit of arthroplasty in this subgroup of patients remains to be further investigated.

Level of Evidence: Prognostic Level III. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Introduction: The literature regarding undisplaced femoral neck fractures (FNF) is sparse. The aim of this prospective feasibility study is to compare the clinical outcome after undisplaced FNF treated with internal fixation (IF) and displaced FNF treated with hip arthroplasty. We hypothesized that hip arthroplasty would give a lower incidence of reoperations.

Methods: A total of 235 patients were included with a median age of 84 years (range 65-99). A consecutive series of 65 patients with undisplaced FNF were treated with IF, and 170 patients with displaced FNF were treated with either a total hip arthroplasty or a hemiarthroplasty. Follow-up interviews were conducted at 1 year using the Harris Hip Score (HHS), WOMAC, and pain numeric rating scale (PNRS). The minimum follow-up time was 22 months. There was no difference in baseline data between the groups.

Results: Nineteen (8%) hips required reoperation at least once at a mean of 6 months (range 0-35). The rate of reoperation was higher in the IF group compared to the hip arthroplasty group (13.8% vs. 5.9%, 95% CI 0.9-6.4). The overall 1-year and 2-year mortality was 28% and 40%, respectively, with no difference between the groups. The most common reasons for reoperations in the IF group were non-union and avascular necrosis, and 6 patients were treated with hip or excision arthroplasty. In the arthroplasty group, the most common indications were deep infection and dislocation. We did not find any differences between the groups in terms of HHS, WOMAC, and PNRS.

Conclusions: In this feasibility study, we found no differences in patient-reported outcomes between the groups although IF required a higher rate of reoperations. Further randomized trials are needed to establish the optimal treatment of undisplaced FNF in the elderly.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.org, NCT03392285. Retrospectively registered on 5 February 2018.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare clinical and radiographic outcomes of bipolar and monopolar radial head arthroplasty in treatment of radial head fracture at a mean follow-up of 6 years.

Methods: A retrospective multicentre cohort study of 30 patients treated for unreconstructable radial head fractures. Patients were treated either with a cemented bipolar or an uncemented monopolar radial head arthroplasty. All patients included were evaluated with patient-rated outcome questionnaire, physical examination, and radiographic evaluation at a mean of 6 years (range, 2–12 years) postoperatively.

Results: There was no statistical difference in QuickDASH between the bipolar or monopolar groups. The majority of patients had no to little pain during rest. Neither flexion nor extension of the injured arm was significantly affected by the type of prosthesis. None of the patients in the bipolar group had any secondary surgery at the time of follow-up. In the monopolar group, four patients required removal of the arthroplasty. Signs of ulnohumeral degenerative changes were seen in the majority of patients in both groups (55% in the monopolar group, 92% in the bipolar group).

Conclusion: In this retrospective cohort study comparing a bipolar and a monopolar radial head arthroplasty for treatment of radial head fractures, we found comparable functional outcome but more revision procedures in the monopolar group at a mean follow-up of 6 years.

Background: Femoral neck fractures (FNFs), which are common in the older population, are associated with high mortality and morbidity. Some 20% of FNFs are undisplaced (uFNFs). The routine surgical procedure for uFNFs is internal fixation (IF) with 2-3 screws/pins with a reported reoperation rate in older patients (age >= 75 years) of up to 21%. The reoperation rate for hemiarthroplasties for displaced fractures is lower than for undisplaced fractures operated with IF. This study will aim to determine whether the outcome for older patients with an uFNF can be improved by replacing the hip instead of preserving it.

Methods: A national multicentre, register-based, randomised controlled trial (rRCT) will be conducted. For this trial, 1440 patients, >= 75 years with an acute uFNF, will be allocated. Eligible patients will be identified by the Swedish Fracture Register (SFR) platform, which will notify the admitting orthopaedic surgeon of eligibility. After informed consent has been given and documented, patients will be randomised to either IF (control group) or arthroplasty (intervention group) within the SFR platform. Injury mechanism, fracture classification, date of injury, and type of treatment are registered in the SFR. Type and brand of arthroplasty, surgical approach, and fixation are obtained from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register (SHAR). The study cohort from the SFR will be cross-checked with the National Patient Register and the SHAR for outcome variables at 2, 5, and 10 years.

The primary outcome will be a composite variable comprising reoperation rate and mortality at 2 years postoperatively. Secondary endpoints will include reoperation rate and mortality as stand-alone variables. In addition, secondary endpoints will be patient-reported outcomes as measured by the Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment questionnaire at 1 year postoperatively as routinely collected within the SFR. Further secondary endpoints will include the occurrence of adverse events such as pneumonia, stroke or myocardial infarction and evaluation of the external validity of the study.

Discussion: This large, multicentre, register-based randomised controlled trial could potentially shift the treatment of uFNFs in older patients towards primary hip arthroplasty in order to improve the outcome.

Background: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the most reliable way of evaluating the effect of new treatments by comparing them with previously accepted treatment regimens. The results obtained from an RCT are extrapolated from the study environment to the general health care system. The ability to do so is called external validity. We sought to evaluate the external validity of an RCT comparing the results of total hip arthroplasty with those of hemiarthroplasty for the treatment of displaced femoral neck fractures in patients ≥80 years of age.

Methods: This prospective, single-center cohort study included 183 patients ≥80 years of age who had a displaced femoral neck fracture. All patients were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for an RCT comparing total hip arthroplasty and hemiarthroplasty. The population for this study consisted of patients who gave their informed consent and were randomized into the RCT (consenting group, 120 patients) as well as those who declined to give their consent to participate (non-consenting group, 63 patients). The outcome measurements were mortality, complications, and patient-reported outcome measures. Follow-up was carried out postoperatively with use of a mailed survey that included patient-reported outcome questionnaires.

Results: We found a statistically significant and clinically relevant difference between the groups, with the non-consenting group having a higher risk of death compared with the consenting group. (hazard ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.9 to 11.1). No differences were found between the groups in terms of patient-reported outcome measures or surgical complications.

Conclusions: This cohort study indicates a higher mortality rate but comparable hip function and quality of life among eligible non-consenters as compared with eligible consenters when evaluating the external validity of an RCT in patients ≥80 years of age with femoral neck fracture.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background and purpose - Preoperative posterior tilt of the femoral head as seen on lateral radiographs has been reported to affect the risk of fixation failure in cases of minimally displaced femoral neck fractures (Garden I-II). We investigated radiological risk factors of treatment failure.

Patients and methods - We included 417 patients (68% women, median age: 78 years (50-108) with a minimally displaced femoral neck fracture (Garden I-II) treated with internal fixation in a retrospective cohort study. The patients were followed for 3.4 years (2-14). Data on age, sex, housing, cognitive impairment, implant angulation, pre- and postoperative tilt, hip complications, and reoperations were recorded. The risk of fixation failure was assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.

Results - The overall reoperation rate was 17%, and the rate of treatment failure (fixation failure, nonunion, avascular necrosis, or posttraumatic osteoarthritis) was 13%. Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed an increased risk of treatment failure with a preoperative posterior tilt of at least 20° and a preoperative anterior tilt greater than 10°. A failure occurred in 13 of the 65 patients with a posterior tilt of at least 20° and in 5 of the 9 patients with an anterior tilt greater than 10°.

Interpretation - A preoperative posterior tilt of 20° and an anterior tilt greater than 10° in cases of Garden I and II femoral neck fractures increase the risk of fixation failure necessitating additional surgery. In this group of patients, there is a need for future interventional studies regarding the feasibility of primary hip arthroplasty.