Technetium-99m-methylenediphosphonate scintimetry after femoral neck fracture. A three-year follow-up study

Thirty-nine patients with femoral neck fractures were followed up clinically and radiographically by technetium-99m-methylenediphosphonate (99mTc-MDP) scintimetry two to 20 days and four, eight, 12, 24, and 36 months after surgery or until redisplacement, pseudarthrosis, or segmental collapse occurred. The scintimetric data were calculated by selecting regions of interest on the fractured and intact sides over the femoral head, neck, greater trochanter, and shaft; ratios of fractured/intact side were obtained for each region. Bone metabolism after femoral neck fracture was expressed and analyzed numerically. Prognosis regarding the course of healing could be made with precision by studying femoral head isotope activity shortly after surgery, preferably one to three weeks after operation. Intact femoral head uptake (ratio greater than 1.0) was connected with uneventful healing, while defective uptake (ratio less than 1.0) was observed with healing complications. The vast majority of femoral heads with primary uptake defects showed increased uptake (greater than 1.0) after four months, often as early as six to eight weeks, indicating revascularization. Segmental collapse, as well as redisplacement and pseudarthrosis, appear to be related to femoral head vascular injury. Femoral head uptake in patients in whom healing complications developed secondary to avascularity differed significantly from that in patients with normal healing, except at investigations performed four to eight months after operation. 99mTc-MDP uptake in the femoral neck, trochanter, and shaft areas was increased for all femoral neck fractures. Subsequent normalization was considerably slower in patients with healing complications. A significant difference from normal healing did not occur until 12-24 months after operation. For patients with contralateral hip disease affecting the femoral head ratio, the prognosis regarding complications was made with the aid of the femoral head/shaft ratio on the fracture side.     

Sequential scintimetry in prediction of healing rate after femoral neck fracture

Thirty-one femoral neck fractures which united without complications (nonunion or late segmental collapse) were included in a prospective sequential scintimetric study. Roentgenologically, three subgroups with different healing rates could be distinguished: rapid union, normal union, and delayed union. All fractures showed a rapid increase in relative femoral head radionuclide uptake after the 1-week scintimetry, followed by a gradual decline after 6 weeks-3 months. However, both the initial rise in activity and the time for maximal uptake tended to differ between the three groups. For rapid union and normal union the peak activity was registered at 6 weeks and for delayed union at 3 months. It is concluded that sequential scintimetric assessment of femoral head uptake can identify different healing rates and that this difference can be partly explained by a transient impairment of vascular supply to the femoral head in fractures with delayed healing.     

Defining length stability in paediatric femoral shaft fractures treated with titanium elastic nails

IntroductionOptimal paediatric femoral shaft fracture patterns or lengths amenable to titanium elastic nail stabilization have not been well defined. The purpose of this study is to identify radiographic parameters predictive of treatment failure with flexible intramedullary nails based upon fracture morphology.MethodsA retrospective review was performed of all femoral shaft fractures treated with flexible intramedullary nails over a five-year period. All patients with at least six weeks of postoperative radiographic imaging were included. Fracture characteristics included location, pattern, length, obliquity, angulation, translation and shortening. Postoperative radiographs were reviewed to determine shortening and angulation.ResultsThere were 58 patients with 60 femoral shaft fractures stabilized with titanium nails, with 46 healing within acceptable parameters and 14 considered malunions. Six of the 14 malunions developed complications requiring early unplanned intervention. No patients in the treatment success group had a complication. Between the treatment success and failure groups, fracture pattern, location, length, obliquity, angulation, translation or shortening were not statistically different. Mean nail canal fill was significantly lower in the failure group (0.72 versus 0.81; p = 0.0146), with a receiver operating characteristic curve identifying canal fill 76% as the optimal threshold.ConclusionThis is the first study to measure the length and obliquity of paediatric femoral shaft fractures and to determine their relationship to radiographic alignment after healing. None of the preoperative fracture characteristics were predictive of malalignment or shortening. We recommend the use of larger nail sizes in the treatment of paediatric femoral shaft fractures, especially if there is concern for residual instability.Level of evidenceIV     

Radionuclide scintimetry for diagnosis of complications following femoral neck fracture

A scintimetric study using Tc-99m MDP was made of 54 patients with delayed union, nonunion, or late segmental collapse of the femoral head, 4–92 months after femoral neck fracture. In radiographically verified collapse, the radionuclide uptake ratio between the femoral head on the fractured and on the intact side (HHR) was significantly higher than in fractures resulting in delayed union or nonunion. On the basis of scintimetric and radiographic findings, the patients with healing disturbances could be divided into three groups, characterized by the following features: (1) Satisfactory post-reduction position of the fracture without subsequent redisplacement and a high HHR, which as a rule turned out to be delayed union; (2) The same radiographic pattern but with a lower HHR, which in most cases resulted in nonunion; (3) Inadequate reduction or early rediaplacement of the fracture with a high HHR, which resulted in nonunion. The fractional precision in discriminating between different types of disturbed fracture healing by means of skeletal scintimetry was 0.86 in this study. This non-invasive and technically simple method would therefore be a valuable complement to radiography in the assessment of healing, more than 4 months after fracture of the femoral neck.     

Radionuclide scintimetry for diagnosis of complications following femoral neck fracture

A scintimetric study using Tc-99m MDP was made of 54 patients with delayed union, nonunion, or late segmental collapse of the femoral head, 4-92 months after femoral neck fracture. In radiographically verified collapse, the radionuclide uptake ratio between the femoral head on the fractured and on the intact side (HHR) was significantly higher than in fractures resulting in delayed union or nonunion. On the basis of scintimetric and radiographic findings, the patients with healing disturbances could be divided into three groups, characterized by the following features: (1) Satisfactory post-reduction position of the fracture without subsequent redisplacement and a high HHR, which as a rule turned out to be delayed union; (2) The same radiographic pattern but with a lower HHR, which in most cases resulted in nonunion; (3) Inadequate reduction or early rediaplacement of the fracture with a high HHR, which resulted in nonunion. The fractional precision in discriminating between different types of disturbed fracture healing by means of skeletal scintimetry was 0.86 in this study. This non-invasive and technically simple method would therefore be a valuable complement to radiography in the assessment of healing, more than 4 months after fracture of the femoral neck.     

Comparison of skeletal and bone marrow radionuclide scintimetry of femoral neck fracture

Twenty-six patients with late complications following femoral neck fracture were examined with both skeletal and bone marrow radionuclide scintimetry. There was no correlation between the methods with respect to the quantitative assessment of femoral head vascularity based on different uptake ratios comparing the fractured and the intact side. Skeletal scintimetry always had good image quality and permitted reliable differentiation between nonunion of the fracture and late segmental collapse, in contrast to bone marrow scintimetry which gave poor image quality. Skeletal scintimetry thus seems superior to bone marrow scintimetry for assessment and differential diagnosis of late complications following femoral neck fracture. It is emphasized that the physiological mechanisms for radionuclide uptake must be taken into account when comparing scintimetric studies using different tracers.     

老年股骨颈骨折的内固定治疗

目的 探讨内固定治疗老年股骨颈骨折的疗效. 方法回顾研究2000年1月至2007年12月采用内固定治疗且获得随访的139例老年股骨颈骨折患者资料,其中男52例,女87例;年龄65～93岁,平均71.6岁;受伤至入院时间为1 h～30 d,平均56.7 h.骨折按Garden分型:Ⅰ型17例,Ⅱ型43例,Ⅲ型62例,Ⅳ型17例.移位骨折79例,非移位骨折60例.内固定材料:空心钉131例,动力髋螺钉5例,动力髋螺钉加空心钉3例.对患者住院时间、骨折愈合率、术后并发症、股骨头缺血坏死率、内固定失效率及患者功能恢复情况进行总结分析. 结果 139例患者住院时间为5～59 d,平均15.4 d.术后获7～77个月(平均35个月)随访.骨折愈合126例,占90.6%(126/139);愈合时间2～12个月,平均6.2个月.其中22例患者术后出现并发症.骨折不愈合内固定失效13例,占9.4%(13/139);股骨头缺血性坏死9例,占6.5%(9/139).正常行走者81例,占58.3%(81/139),需要助行器械者50例,占36.0%(50/139),不能行走者8例,占5.7%(8/139).结论 老年股骨颈骨折内固定治疗骨折愈合率高,股骨头缺血坏死率较低,内固定治疗老年股骨颈骨折具有积极意义.术前病情评估和合并症的积极治疗非常重要,条件允许时应尽早手术.     

Prognostic accuracy of preoperative and postoperative scintimetry after femoral neck fracture

Forty patients with fresh femoral neck fractures treated with closed reduction and internal fixation were included in a prospective study of nonunion and osteonecrosis by preoperative and postoperative scintimetry. Correlated roentgenographic follow-up studies were continued for two years postoperatively. The aim of the study was to determine the relative prognostic accuracy of preoperative versus postoperative scintimetry. A ratio between the radionuclide uptake over the femoral head on the fracture side and the contralateral side exceeding 1.9 at the preoperative scintimetry and 1.2 at the postoperative scintimetry was associated with a high incidence of union, whereas a lower ratio often predicted subsequent complications (redisplacement, nonunion, or late segmental collapse). Prognostic accuracy was higher for scintimetry of fractures treated with closed reduction and internal fixation (0.70) than for untreated fractures (0.53). These results suggest that scintimetry is useful postoperatively to complement roentgenographic examination in assessing the prognosis of femoral neck fractures.     

Prognostic precision in postoperative 99mTc-MDP scintimetry after femoral neck fracture

A 2-year follow-up regarding healing complications, such as redisplacement, nonunion, and segmental collapse of the femoral head, was performed in 306 patients operated on for femoral neck fracture and examined with 99mTechnetium-MDP scintimetry within 2 weeks postoperatively. Scintimetric evaluation was performed by selecting regions of interest over the femoral head on the fracture side and the intact side and by comparing the uptake. A femoral head ratio fractured/intact side thus was obtained. Of 199 patients with an intact femoral head uptake (ratio greater than or equal to 1.0), 181 showed no signs of healing complications at 2 years, whereas 18 had developed healing complications. Of 107 cases with a deficient femoral-head uptake (ratio less than 1.0), 96 had developed healing complications within 2 years from the operation, while 11 cases had no signs of radiographic complications. We conclude that 99mTc-MDP scintimetry performed within 2 weeks from femoral neck fracture can predict the outcome of the healing course with a prognostic accuracy of 91 per cent.     

Postoperative Tc-scintimetry in femoral neck fracture:A prospective study of 46 cases

13 men and 33 women with 8 undisplaced and 38 displaced fractures of the femoral neck treated with internal fixation were included in a prospective study of Tc-scintimetry performed early (1-3 weeks), as well as after 2 and 12 months. 9 fractures redisplaced and 5 had late segmental collapse.

Healing complications were associated with decreased uptake in early and 2-month scintimetry, but the specificity was only 50 percent. With normal or increased uptake, uncomplicated healing of the fracture was predictable with 90-100 percent sensitivity.     

Preoperative 99mTc-MDP scintimetry of femoral neck fractures

Preoperative 99mTc-MDP-scintimetry was performed in 117 patients with femoral neck fractures. Scintimetry was shown to be superior to visual evaluation. The ratio was calculated of the uptake in the femoral head of the fractured side over that in the unfractured side, with compensation for the increased trochanteric femoral activity found on the fractured side. A ratio above 0.90 correlated well with uneventful healing in both undisplaced and displaced fractures. Preoperative scintimetry is of great value in the choice of primary treatment of femoral neck fractures.     

Fixation failure in femoral neck fractures

Fixation of femoral neck fractures is associated with a higher incidence of complications than any other fracture. The rates of nonunion and avascular necrosis with open reduction and internal fixation continue to be unacceptably high. These complications are the main reason for resorting to primary endoprosthetic replacement of the femoral head in the presence of displaced fractures in elderly patients. However, with the increasing life span of the patients with these prostheses, late complications of endoprosthetic replacement of the femoral head are becoming significant. With these complications, it may be argued that the most cost-effective solution to the femoral neck fracture in the majority of patients is open reduction and internal fixation, with elective conversion, when necessary, to total hip arthroplasty in patients who have a complication. Because the literature does not contain a systematic review of reasons for failure of internal fixation, the authors will attempt to review the common means of failure of internal fixation in young and older patients in an attempt to better understand and prevent these complications.     

Rigid osteosynthesis decreases the late complication rate after femoral neck fracture

The influence of threee different fixation devices on late healing complications after femoral neck fractures was studied in a large patient group from three different hospitals. Except for the choice of device, which was unique to each hospital, all other factors having a potential influence on the late outcome, such as sex and age of the patients, initial degree of fracture dislocation and quality of surgical reduction were similar among the three groups. Within a 2-year observation period the incidence of late segmental collapses (14%–19%) was not related to choice of device, but a higher number of non-unions (27%–30%) occurred after adaptive non-rigid methods using screws (von Bahr) or a flanged nail (Rydell) than after a more rigid osteosynthesis (8%, Deyerle). Using such a rigid fixation, the complication rate could be reduced by one-third and the need for revision surgery halved. A device providing stable fixation should be preferred for treatment of femoral neck fractures in the elderly to prevent the healing complications related to insufficient stabilization.     

Sequential scintimetry after femoral neck fracture: Methodologic aspects and prediction of healing complications

Forty-five patients with recent cervical hip fractures were included in a prospective, clinical, radiographic and sequential scintimetric study. Striking changes in radionuclide uptake over the entire hip region on the fracture side were found during the first 5 postoperative months. Fractures that healed without complications showed the highest relative femoral head uptake at 1 week and a peak value at 6 weeks, followed by a gradual decline at the subsequent examinations. Fractures with complications (redisplacement, nonunion, or late segmental collapse) showed a lower initial uptake and a more gradual increase and only a slight tendency towards increased uptake after 3 months. The accuracy in predicting nonunion with scintimetric examination alone is high both at 1 and at 6 weeks, and the accuracy is almost equally high with combined scintimetric, radiographic, and clinical assessment 3-5 months postoperatively.     

Preoperative 99mTc-MDP scintimetry of femoral neck fractures

Preoperative ^99mTc-MDP-scintimetry was performed in 117 patients with femoral neck fractures. Scintimetry was shown to be superior to visual evaluation. The ratio was calculated of the uptake in the femoral head of the fractured side over that in the unfractured side, with compensation for the increased trochanteric femoral activity found on the fractured side. A ratio above 0.90 correlated well with uneventful healing in both undisplaced and displaced fractures. Preoperative scintimetry is of great value in the choice of primary treatment of femoral neck fractures.     

Preoperative 99mTc-MDP scintimetry of femoral neck fractures

Preoperative ^99mTc-MDP-scintimetry was performed in 117 patients with femoral neck fractures. Scintimetry was shown to be superior to visual evaluation. The ratio was calculated of the uptake in the femoral head of the fractured side over that in the unfractured side, with compensation for the increased trochanteric femoral activity found on the fractured side. A ratio above 0.90 correlated well with uneventful healing in both undisplaced and displaced fractures. Preoperative scintimetry is of great value in the choice of primary treatment of femoral neck fractures.     

Sequential scintimetry after femoral neck fracture. Methodologic aspects and prediction of healing complications

Forty-five patients with recent cervical hip fractures were included in a prospective, clinical, radiographic and sequential scintimetric study. Striking changes in radionuclide uptake over the entire hip region on the fracture side were found during the first 5 postoperative months. Fractures that healed without complications showed the highest relative femoral head uptake at 1 week and a peak value at 6 weeks, followed by a gradual decline at the subsequent examinations. Fractures with complications (redisplacement, nonunion, or late segmental collapse) showed a lower initial uptake and a more gradual increase and only a slight tendency towards increased uptake after 3 months. The accuracy in predicting nonunion with scintimetric examination alone is high both at 1 and at 6 weeks, and the accuracy is almost equally high with combined scintimetric, radiographic, and clinical assessment 3-5 months postoperatively.     

Bilateral femoral neck fracture in a child: a 17-year follow-up

A long-term follow-up of bilateral femoral neck fracture is presented. The patient sustained the injury in a road accident at the age of five. Both fractures were Delbet type III. Three days after the injury, open reduction and internal fixation were performed. A hip spica cast was applied for 8 weeks. Follow-up radiographs show uneventful healing, with no avascular necrosis of the femoral head. The initial shortening of the right proximal femur persisted. The left femur shows extensive remodeling of the femoral head toward valgus. The patient is painless and currently does some sports.     

股骨颈系统和空心加压螺钉治疗青壮年不稳定性股骨颈骨折短期随访

目的：探讨股骨颈动力交叉螺钉系统（femoral neck system,FNS）与3枚空心加压螺钉（cannulate compression screw,CCS）治疗青壮年不稳定性股骨颈骨折的疗效。方法：回顾分析2018年8月至2021年8月收治的52例青壮年不稳定性股骨颈骨折患者临床资料,根据内固定方式分为两组,25例行FNS固定,27例行闭合复位3枚CCS倒三角形分布内固定。记录并比较两组患者的手术时间、切口长度、术中出血量、住院费用、骨折复位质量;术后定期随访患者,比较两组患者骨折愈合时间、术后完全负重时间、术后并发症发生（骨不连、股骨颈短缩、股骨头坏死等）。术后6个月采用Harris评分评估髋关节功能。结果：两组患者手术均顺利完成,FNS组患者出血量多于CCS组、切口长度大于CCS组、住院费用高于CCS组（P<0.01）。两组患者手术时间及术中复位Garden指数比较差异均无统计学意义（P>0.05）。两组患者均获得随访,时间6~32个月。FNS组骨折愈合时间少于CCS组,术后完全负重时间早于CCS组,髋关节Harris评分高于CCS组（P<0.01）。两组患者随访期间均未发生内固定断裂并发症,FNS组发生股骨头缺血性坏死4例、股骨颈短缩2例,其中3例因股骨头缺血性坏死行全髋关节置换术;CCS组发生骨不连2例、股骨头缺血性坏死9例、股骨颈短缩11例,其中5例因骨不连、股骨头缺血性坏死行全髋关节置换术。结论：FNS具有操作简单、兼具旋转稳定和成角稳定,使患者能尽早开始功能锻炼,降低不稳定性股骨颈骨折术后并发症发生率,是治疗青壮年不稳定性股骨颈骨折的新选择。     

Quality of life related to fracture displacement among elderly patients with femoral neck fractures treated with internal fixation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine differences in outcome between undisplaced (Garden I and II) and displaced (Garden III and IV) femoral neck fractures in elderly patients treated with internal fixation. SETTING: University hospital. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. PATIENTS: Ninety patients with an acute femoral neck fracture after a fall. The inclusion criteria were age older than sixty-five years, absence of severe cognitive dysfunction, independent living, and unhindered walking capability preoperatively. The mean follow-up was twenty-six months. INTERVENTION: The patients were treated with closed reduction and percutaneous internal fixation with two cannulated screws. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Fracture healing complications, pain (visual analogue scale), walking capability, activities of daily living, and quality of life according to EuroQol. RESULTS: The rate of fracture healing complications in displaced femoral neck fractures in patients available at the final follow-up was 36 percent compared with 7 percent in patients with undisplaced fractures. The quality of life, according to EuroQol, of patients with uneventfully healed fractures was significantly lower in patients with primarily displaced fractures (0.51) than in patients with undisplaced ones (0.76). CONCLUSION: There was a major difference in outcome on comparing undisplaced and displaced femoral neck fractures in elderly patients treated with internal fixation. The rate of fracture healing complications in patients with undisplaced fractures was low, and patients with healed fractures regained their prefracture quality of life level. The rate of fracture healing complications and reoperations in patients with displaced fractures was high, and even in patients with uneventfully healed fractures, there was a substantial decrease in the quality of life.