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Published in: Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery 10/2011

01-10-2011 | Orthopaedic Outcome Assessment

Reamed intramedullary nailing versus unreamed intramedullary nailing for shaft fracture of femur: a systematic literature review

Authors: Xin Duan, Tao Li, Al-Qwbani Mohammed, Zhou Xiang

Published in: Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery | Issue 10/2011

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Abstract

Introduction

Fractures of femoral fracture are among the most common fractures encountered in orthopedic practice. Intramedullary nailing is the treatment choice for femoral shaft fractures in adults. The objective of this article is to determine the effects of reamed intramedullary nailing versus unreamed intramedullary nailing for fracture of femoral shaft in adults.

Methods

Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (October 2010), PubMed (October 2010) and EMBASE (October 2010) were searched. Randomized and quasi-randomized controlled clinical trials were included. After independent study selection by two authors, data were collected and extracted independently. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed. Pooling of data was undertaken where appropriate.

Results

Seven trials with 952 patients (965 fractures) were included. Compared with unreamed nailing, reamed nailing was significantly lower reoperation rate (RR 0.25, 95% CI 0.11–0.59, P = 0.002), lower non-union rate (RR 0.20, 95% CI 0.05–0.77, P = 0.02) and lower delay union rate(RR 0.30, 95% CI 0.14–0.64, P = 0.002). There was no significant difference when comparing reamed nailing with unreamed nailing for implant failure (RR 0.51, 95% CI 0.16–1.61, P = 0.25), mortality(RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.19–4.58, P = 0.94) and acute respiratory distress syndrome(RR 1.53, 95% CI 0.37–6.29, P = 0.55). Unreamed nailing was significantly less blood loss (SMD 119.23, 95% CI 59.04–180.43, P = 0.0001).

Conclusion

Reamed intramedullary nailing has better treatment effects than unreamed intramedullary nailing for shaft fracture of femur in adults.
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Metadata
Title
Reamed intramedullary nailing versus unreamed intramedullary nailing for shaft fracture of femur: a systematic literature review
Authors
Xin Duan
Tao Li
Al-Qwbani Mohammed
Zhou Xiang
Publication date
01-10-2011
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery / Issue 10/2011
Print ISSN: 0936-8051
Electronic ISSN: 1434-3916
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-011-1311-8

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