The efficacy of augmentative anti-rotational plating plus decortication and autogenic bone grafting for aseptic nonunion after intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fracture

Background:Femoral interlocking intramedullary(IM)nailing fixation is an effective method for the treatment of femoral shaft fractures.Aseptic nonunion of femoral shaft fracture after IM nailing is uncommon.Currently,the treatment for aseptic femoral shaft nonunion is controversial.The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical effect of augmentative antirotational plating plus decortication and autogenic bone grafting for aseptic femoral shaft nonunion after IM nailing failure.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 25 cases of aseptic femoral shaft fracture nonunion treated with IM nailing from January 2015 to August 2019.All patients were treated by leaving the nail in situ,debridement of nonunionsites,decortication,autogenous iliac bone grafting,and augmentative antirotational plating fixation.The time to fracture union and complications were recorded.Results:All patients were followed up for 12–18 months.The union rate after revision surgery was 100%.The average union time was 5.5months(range,4-10).Subjective pain symptoms had disappeared in all patients.There were no incision infections or internal fixator fatigue fractures.Average scores of the physical function and bodily pain components of the SF-36 were 95.5(range,91-98)and 94.1(range,90-97),respectively.No other obvious complications occurred postoperatively.Conclusion:Augmentative antirotational plating plus decortication and autogenic bone grafting is an excellent choice for treating femoral shaft fracture nonunion after IM nailing;this approach has an overall high union rate and few complications.

Iliac ecchymosis,a valuable sign for hollow viscus injuries in blunt pelvic trauma patients

Purpose:Pelvic fractures are characterized by high energy injuries and often accompanied with abdominal and pelvic organ injury.CT has been applied for several decades to evaluate blunt pelvic trauma patients.However,it has a certain rate of inaccurate diagnosis of abdominal hollow viscus injury(HVI),especially in the early stage after injury.The delayed diagnosis of HVI could result in a high morbidity and mortality.The bowel injury prediction score(BIPS)applied 3 clinical variables to determine whether an early surgical intervention for blunt HVI was necessary.We recently found another clinical variable(iliac ecchymosis,IE)which appeared at the early stage of injury,could be predicted for HVI.The main objective of this study was to explore the novel combination of IE and BIPS to enhance the early diagnosis rate of HVI,and thus reduce complications and mortalities.Methods:We conducted a retrospective analysis from January 2008 to December 2018 and recorded blunt pelvic trauma patients in our hospital.The inclusion criteria were patients who were verified with pelvic fractures using abdomen and pelvis CT scan in the emergency department before any surgical intervention.The exclusion criteria were abdominal CT insufficiency before operation,abdominal surgery before CT scan,and CT mesenteric injury grade being 5.The MBIPS was defined as BIPS plus IE,which was calculated according to 4 variables:white blood cell counts of 17.0 or greater,abdominal tenderness,CT scan grade for mesenteric injury of 4 or higher,and the location of IE.Each clinical variable counted 1 score,totally 4 scores.The location and severity of IE was also noted.Results:In total,635 cases were hospitalized and 62 patients were enrolled in this study.Of these included patients,77.4%(40 males and 8 females)were operated by exploratory laparotomy and 22.6%(8 males and 6 females)were treated conservatively.In the 48 patients underwent surgical intervention,46 were confirmed with HVI(45 with IE and 1 without IE).In 46 patients confirmed without HVI,only 3 patients had IE and the rest had no IE.The sensitivity and specificity of IE in predicting HVI was calculated as 97.8%(45/46)and 81.3%(13/16),respectively.The median MBIPS score for surgery group was 2,while 0 for the conservative treatment group.The incidence of HVI in patients with MBIPS score≥2 was significantly higher than that in patients with MBIPS score less than≤2(OR=17.3,p<0.001).Conclusion:IE can be recognized as an indirect sign of HVI because of the high sensitivity and specificity,which is a valuable sign for HVI in blunt pelvic trauma patients.MBIPS can be used to predict HVI in blunt pelvic trauma patients.When the MBIPS score is≥2,HVI is strongly suggested.