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We performed a prospective, randomised trial comparing three treatments for displaced intracapsular fractures of the hip in 280 patients aged 65 to 79 years. The mean patient survival was significantly higher in the group undergoing reduction and internal fixation (79 months) compared with that with a cemented Thompson hemiarthroplasty or a cemented Monk bipolar hemiarthroplasty (61 months and 68 months, respectively). After three years, 32 of 93 patients (34.4%) who had undergone fixation had local complications, necessitating further intervention in 28 (30%). There were no significant differences in the functional outcome in survivors, who were reviewed annually to five years. Either reduction and internal fixation or cemented hemiarthroplasty may be offered as alternative treatments for a displaced intracapsular fracture in a mobile and mentally competent patient under the age of 80 years. The choice of procedure by the patient and the surgeon should be determined by the realisation that the use of internal fixation is associated with a 30% risk of failure requiring further surgery. If this is accepted, however, hemiarthroplasty is avoided, which, in our study has a significantly shorter mean survival time. The use of a bipolar prosthesis has no significant advantage.

Background: Postoperative complications and substantial loss of physical function are common after musculoskeletal trauma. We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of conditionally essential amino acid (CEAA) supplementation on complications and skeletal muscle mass in adults after operative fixation of acute fractures.Methods: Adults who sustained pelvic and extremity fractures that were indicated for operative fixation at a level-I trauma center were enrolled. The subjects were stratified based on injury characteristics (open fractures and/or polytrauma, fragility fractures, isolated injuries) and randomized to standard nutrition (control group) or oral CEAA supplementation twice daily for 2 weeks. Body composition (fat-free mass [FFM]) was measured at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively. Complications were prospectively collected. An intention-to-treat analysis was performed. The relative risk (RR) of complications for the control group relative to the CEAA group was determined, and linear mixed-effects models were used to model the relationship between CEAA supplementation and changes in FFM.Results: Four hundred subjects (control group: 200; CEAA group: 200) were enrolled. The CEAA group had significantly lower overall complications than the control group (30.5% vs. 43.8%; adjusted RR = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.55 to 0.92; p = 0.008). The FFM decreased significantly at 6 weeks in the control subjects (-0.9 kg, p = 0.0205), whereas the FFM was maintained at 6 weeks in the CEAA subjects (20.33 kg, p = 0.3606). This difference in FFM was not seen at subsequent time points. Conclusions:Our results indicate that CEAA supplementation has a protective effect against common complications and early skeletal muscle wasting after operative fixation of extremity and pelvic fractures. Given the potential benefits of this inexpensive, low-risk intervention, multicenter prospective studies in focused trauma populations are warranted.Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. Despite continued advances in surgical management of extremity and pelvic fractures, complications and prolonged loss of function continue to adversely impact clinical outcomes 1-5 . In the musculoskeletal trauma population, malnutrition is common, and when diagnosed by a registered dietitian, it is associated with a 3-fold greater complication rate 6 . Malnutrition is a potentially modifiable risk factor for mortality, fracture nonunion, wound complications, and increased length of stay [6][7][8][9] .Baseline malnutrition is further compounded by inadequate calorie and protein intake following trauma and subsequent surgery 10,11 . An already poor diet is further suppressed by pain, medication side effects, and nausea, leading to worsening nutrition deficiencies and limiting healing potential. These deficiencies, in combination with the detrimental effects of prolonged immobilization, result in a catabolic state with d...

Background: Lower extremity physical performance measures (PPMs), which can objectively quantify functional ability, are an attractive adjuvant to patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments. However, few tests have been validated for use in hip instability. Purpose: To evaluate 4 different PPMs for their ability to differentiate between young adults with hip dysplasia indicated for treatment with periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and asymptomatic controls and to test inter- and intratest reliability and relationship with popular hip PRO instruments. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A total of 24 symptomatic patients aged 15 to 39 years (100% female) with hip dysplasia (lateral center-edge angle <25°) indicated for treatment with PAO completed the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome (HOOS) Pain subscale, HOOS Short Version (HOOS PS), International Hip Outcome Tool Short Version (iHOT-12), modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function (PF) and pain interference (PI), and 4 physical function tests: (1) self-selected walking speed (SSWS), sit-to-stand 5 times (STS5), (3) 4-square step test (FSST), and (4) timed stair ascent (TSA). A further 21 young, asymptomatic adults aged 18 to 39 years (91% female) also underwent testing. Between-group comparisons were made with unpaired t test with Bonferroni-Holm correction. Inter- and intrarater reliability was assessed in 38 participants by repeating PPMs at a second visit and using 2 raters. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to determine associations between PPMs and PRO instruments. Results: Significant differences between patients with hip dysplasia and controls were observed for all PRO instruments (HOOS Pain, 47.8 vs 99.2; HOOS PS, 61.9 vs 99.2; iHOT-12, 32.2 vs 99.2; mHHS, 54.5 vs 90.6; PROMIS PF, 41.4 vs 65.6; and PROMIS PI, 62.0 vs 39.1 [all P < .001]), and all PPMs (SSWS, 1.21 vs 1.53 m/s; STS5, 10.85 vs 5.95 s; FSST, 6.59 vs 4.03 s [all P < .001]; and TSA, 4.58 vs 3.29 s [ P = .002]). All 4 PPMs demonstrated excellent intra- and intertest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.83-0.99). STS5, FSST, and TSA were correlated highly ( r > 0.5) with physical function PRO instruments, including PROMIS PF, mHHS, and iHOT-12. Conclusion: Patients with symptomatic hip dysplasia demonstrated significant impairment on functional testing compared with asymptomatic controls, and performance measure testing demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability. Timed stair ascent and sit-to-stand testing in particular were correlated strongly with physical function PRO instruments. PPMs may be a viable and well-received adjuvant to PRO instrument administration for patients with nonarthritic hip conditions, and investigation of the ability of PPMs to assess surgical outcomes for hip dysplasia is warranted.