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Pediatric femur neck fractures: a retrospective analysis of 39 hips

  • Original Clinical Article
  • Published:
Journal of Children's Orthopaedics

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the radiological and clinical results of pediatric femur neck fractures.

Methods

This study included 39 children (mean age 11.1, range 4 to 16 years) who had a femur neck fracture and had at least one year of complete follow-up. The most common etiological factor was traffic accident and the most common associated skeletal injury was pelvis fracture.

Results

According to Delbet’s classification system, there were no type I (transepiphyseal) fractures and 21 type II (transcervical), 14 type III (cervicotrochanteric), and four type IV (intertrochanteric) fractures. The mean follow-up was 3.4 (1–9.5) years. A satisfactory outcome according to Ratliff’s radiological and clinical criteria was obtained in 28 (72%) hips. Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head was seen in 11 (28%) hips and the rate of satisfactory outcome was significantly higher in hips without AVN than in hips with AVN (P < 0.001). Transcervical fractures had the worst outcome (P = 0.014) and the highest rate of AVN (P = 0.077) when compared with cervicotrochanteric and intertrochanteric fractures. No significant correlation was found between both the outcome and development of AVN and age, gender, laterality, amount of fracture displacement, treatment time, and the type of reduction (open/closed) (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

It has been concluded that the development of AVN primarily influences the outcome in pediatric femur neck fractures and that fracture type is essentially correlated with the development of AVN and outcome.

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Acknowledgments

None of the authors received any financial support for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, 26480, Eskişehir, Turkey

    Ulukan İnan, Nusret Köse & Hakan Ömeroğlu

Authors
  1. Ulukan İnan
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  2. Nusret Köse
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  3. Hakan Ömeroğlu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hakan Ömeroğlu.

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İnan, U., Köse, N. & Ömeroğlu, H. Pediatric femur neck fractures: a retrospective analysis of 39 hips. J Child Orthop 3, 259–264 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11832-009-0180-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11832-009-0180-y

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