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Published in: Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

A systematic review of undisplaced femoral neck fracture treatments for patients over 65 years of age, with a focus on union rates and avascular necrosis

Authors: Dan-Feng Xu, Fang-Gang Bi, Chi-Yuan Ma, Zheng-Fa Wen, Xun-Zi Cai

Published in: Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

It remains unclear whether conservative treatment should be used to treat the common undisplaced femoral neck fractures that develop in the elderly. Herein, we systematically review the rates of union and avascular necrosis after conservative and surgical treatment of undisplaced femoral neck fractures.

Methods

We searched the EMBASE, PubMed, OVID, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for randomized controlled trials or observational studies that assessed the outcomes of conservative or surgical treatments of undisplaced femoral neck fractures. No language or publication year limitation was imposed. Statistical analyses were performed with the aid of the chi-squared test. We evaluated the quality of each publication and the risk of bias.

Results

Twenty-nine studies involving 5071 patients were ultimately included; 1120 patients were treated conservatively and 3951 surgically. The union rates were 68.8% (642/933) and 92.6% (635/686) in the former and latter groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The avascular necrosis rate in the conservatively treated group was 10.3% (39/380), while it was 7.7% (159/2074) in the surgically treated group (p = 0.09).

Conclusions

Surgery to treat undisplaced femoral neck fractures was associated with a higher union rate and a tendency toward less avascular necrosis than conservative treatment.
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Metadata
Title
A systematic review of undisplaced femoral neck fracture treatments for patients over 65 years of age, with a focus on union rates and avascular necrosis
Authors
Dan-Feng Xu
Fang-Gang Bi
Chi-Yuan Ma
Zheng-Fa Wen
Xun-Zi Cai
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1749-799X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-017-0528-9

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