Comparative study of functional outcome of dynamic compression plating with intramedullary interlocking nailing in close fracture shaft of humerus in adults

Abstract

With the dynamic success of intramedullary fixation of fractures of the femur and tibia, there was speculation ABSTRACT Background: Humeral shaft includes 1% of all fractures. The advantage of operative management is early mobilization and patients comfort. Most of the studies compare two main modalities of management, 1. dynamic compression plate 2. intramedulary interlocking nail, with respect to fracture union as major criteria. Very few studies have compared functional outcome with respect to shoulder and elbow joint. The purpose of this study is to compare the outcomes of each method of fixation. (Dynamic compression plating and interlocking nailing) for the fracture shaft of humerus and to analyse statistically significant difference in the results of these two methods. Methods: There were 58 patients of fracture shaft humerus were enrolled during 2 May 2015 to 2 January 2017 in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups, DCP group and IMILN group, each having 29 patients and compare the functional outcome of both groups with each other. Results: There were total 53 patients among them 26 (49.05%) treated with DCP and 27 (55.95%) treated with intramedullary interlocking nail (IMILN).The mean age of patient treated with DCP was 40.12 years (SD±8.51, Min-Max: 25-60) and treated with IMILN was 41.96 years (SD±11.04, Min-Max: 22-61). Road traffic accident was major mode of injury to shaft of humerus. Conclusions: Dynamic compression plating is preferable technique than interlocking nailing for fracture shaft of humerus in adults.

Humeral Shaft Fractures

“…6 Operative treatment has the advantage of early mobilization and good functional outcome. 7 This operative procedure is not without risks which can either be in the form of a technical error or post-operative complication like infection, injury to nerve, etc. 8 Most of the studies have used fracture union as the major determinant of the outcome and very few studies have examined the functions at the shoulder and elbow.…”