Atypical femur fractures – Patient characteristics and results of intramedullary nailing for a series of 21 patients


Published online: Jun 30 2016

Sivaraman SUBRAMANIAN, Martyn J. PARKER

From the Peterborough and Stamford Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Peterborough, England

Abstract

Atypical femoral fractures have been associated with long term use of bisphosphonates. Our study plan was to report the outcome of treatment for a series of patients with an atypical femoral fracture and to compare the characteristics of those patients with a proximal femoral fracture. 21 atypical fractures were identified over a seven year period and these were compared with those of 2.547 hip fracture patients treated over the same time period at a single centre.

The mean age of patients with an atypical fracture was on average nine years less than that for the hip fracture patients (72 as against 81 years, p = 0.002). Four (19.0%) of the patients with atypical fracture had no injury associated with the fracture and nine (42.9%) patients had pain prior to presentation at hospital for a mean of 31 days. Patients with atypical fractures were more likely to be smokers (9/21(42.9%) versus 319/2547 (12.5%), p = 0.0001) and more likely to be on long term oral steroid therapy (8/21 (38.1%) versus 131/2547 (5.1%), p < 0.0001) in comparison to other hip fracture patients.

All the atypical fractures were treated by intramedullary nailing and healed uneventfully apart from one fracture that developed non-union requiring revision nailing. Residual pain at one year from injury was more prevalent for patients with atypical fractures.