Abstract:<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Femur fractures are among the commonest pediatric injuries. Until recent past, traction and hip spica were the standard treatment for all femoral shaft fractures which required long duration of hospitalization. The management of femoral shaft fractures in children above the age of six years has evolved more towards operative approaches in the last two decades to minimize the post plaster complications i.e… Show more
“…Thirteen studies (11 retrospective cohorts; 2 prospective randomized controlled trials) reporting 805 closed femoral fractures in 801 children were eligible for inclusion (Table 1). 1,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Studies were from the United Kingdom, United States, Israel, India, China, and Pakistan. There were 559 males (69.8%) and 242 females (30.2%) with the reported mean ages in the included studies ranging from 5.9 to 10.6 years.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…With respect to the secondary outcomes, infection (of the bone or the soft tissues) was reported in all studies (Table 3). 1,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Twelve studies 1,16,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] reported leg-length difference and 11 studies [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] reported unplanned reoperations (Table 4). These secondary outcomes were pooled and are expressed as summary statistics.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Study definitions of outcome measure and risk of bias assessment (non-randomized studies). Ahmed et al24 NU not defined, term used as diagnosis, MU not defined, term used as diagnosis. SI term used but not defined, OM term not used, UR term not used, LLD term used but not defined.…”
Purpose: Fractures of the femoral diaphysis are associated with a risk of morbidity in children. Various fixation methods have been developed, but with only limited evidence to support their use. This systematic review assesses the evidence regarding clinical outcomes of closed femoral diaphyseal fractures in children treated with plate fixation or flexible intramedullary nails. Methods: A PROSPERO-registered, PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science (WoS) databases were searched from inception to February 2023. Inclusion criteria included clinical studies reporting adverse outcomes following surgical treatment of pediatric closed femoral diaphyseal fractures using plate fixation and flexible intramedullary nails. The ROBINS-I and RoB 2 tools evaluated the risk of bias. Results: Thirteen papers (2 prospective randomized controlled trials and 11 retrospective cohorts) reported 805 closed diaphyseal femoral fractures in 801 children (559 males, 242 females). There were 360 plate fixations and 445 flexible intramedullary nails. Two cases of osteomyelitis and one nonunion were reported. Meta-analysis showed that plate fixation had a lower risk of soft tissue infection (relative risk 0.26 (95% confidence interval 0.07–0.92)). There was no difference in the following outcomes: malunion (relative risk 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.32–1.44)); unplanned reoperation (relative risk 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.31–1.14)), and leg-length difference (relative risk 1.58 (95% confidence interval 0.66–3.77)). The risk of bias was high in all studies. Conclusions: An analysis of 805 fractures with minimal differences in meta-analyses is considered high quality even when the quality of the evidence is low. The findings are limited by important flaws in the methodology in the published literature. Well-designed multicentre prospective studies using standardized core outcomes are required to advise treatment recommendations. Level of evidence: III.
“…Thirteen studies (11 retrospective cohorts; 2 prospective randomized controlled trials) reporting 805 closed femoral fractures in 801 children were eligible for inclusion (Table 1). 1,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Studies were from the United Kingdom, United States, Israel, India, China, and Pakistan. There were 559 males (69.8%) and 242 females (30.2%) with the reported mean ages in the included studies ranging from 5.9 to 10.6 years.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…With respect to the secondary outcomes, infection (of the bone or the soft tissues) was reported in all studies (Table 3). 1,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] Twelve studies 1,16,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] reported leg-length difference and 11 studies [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] reported unplanned reoperations (Table 4). These secondary outcomes were pooled and are expressed as summary statistics.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Study definitions of outcome measure and risk of bias assessment (non-randomized studies). Ahmed et al24 NU not defined, term used as diagnosis, MU not defined, term used as diagnosis. SI term used but not defined, OM term not used, UR term not used, LLD term used but not defined.…”
Purpose: Fractures of the femoral diaphysis are associated with a risk of morbidity in children. Various fixation methods have been developed, but with only limited evidence to support their use. This systematic review assesses the evidence regarding clinical outcomes of closed femoral diaphyseal fractures in children treated with plate fixation or flexible intramedullary nails. Methods: A PROSPERO-registered, PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science (WoS) databases were searched from inception to February 2023. Inclusion criteria included clinical studies reporting adverse outcomes following surgical treatment of pediatric closed femoral diaphyseal fractures using plate fixation and flexible intramedullary nails. The ROBINS-I and RoB 2 tools evaluated the risk of bias. Results: Thirteen papers (2 prospective randomized controlled trials and 11 retrospective cohorts) reported 805 closed diaphyseal femoral fractures in 801 children (559 males, 242 females). There were 360 plate fixations and 445 flexible intramedullary nails. Two cases of osteomyelitis and one nonunion were reported. Meta-analysis showed that plate fixation had a lower risk of soft tissue infection (relative risk 0.26 (95% confidence interval 0.07–0.92)). There was no difference in the following outcomes: malunion (relative risk 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.32–1.44)); unplanned reoperation (relative risk 0.59 (95% confidence interval 0.31–1.14)), and leg-length difference (relative risk 1.58 (95% confidence interval 0.66–3.77)). The risk of bias was high in all studies. Conclusions: An analysis of 805 fractures with minimal differences in meta-analyses is considered high quality even when the quality of the evidence is low. The findings are limited by important flaws in the methodology in the published literature. Well-designed multicentre prospective studies using standardized core outcomes are required to advise treatment recommendations. Level of evidence: III.
Flexible nails have a significantly increased risk of complications compared with plating techniques when treating diaphyseal femoral fractures in children aged 5-12: a systematic review.
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