Management of lower limb fractures in patients with spinal cord injuries.
Denis P Koong, Michael J Symes, Andrew K Sefton, Brahman S Sivakumar, Andrew Ellis
Author Information
Denis P Koong: Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ORCID
Michael J Symes: The Orthopaedic Research Institute and Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St George and Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales Medicine, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. ORCID
Andrew K Sefton: Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Brahman S Sivakumar: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Andrew Ellis: Department of Orthopaedics and Trauma, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
BACKGROUND: Low-energy fractures of the lower limb in patients post spinal cord injury (SCI) present significant management challenges. This is the first Australian study to review the experience from a tertiary referral SCI centre and aims to identify trends and suggest therapeutic options. METHODS: Retrospective review over a 5-year period in patients with SCI treated for a lower limb fragility fracture. Patient demographics, spinal injury severity scores, fracture characteristics and treatment were assessed. Time to union, length of stay and treatment-related complications were also examined. RESULTS: A total of 38 SCI patients with 42 lower extremity fractures met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 55.7 years and mean duration post-SCI at fracture was 22.5 ± 12.7 years. The femur (73.8%) was more commonly fractured than the lower leg (26.2%), with extra-articular distal femoral fractures most prevalent (35.7%). A total of 25 (60%) fractures were managed operatively, and 17 (40%) non-operatively. The majority of femoral fractures were managed with intramedullary nailing. Tibial fractures were more commonly managed non-operatively. Eight cases (19.1%) experienced complications, with a significant difference between frequency of complications in non-operative (35.3%) and operative (8.0%) groups; P = 0.045. All fractures united except one; time to union was shorter in patients treated surgically (13.6 ± 6.4 weeks) compared to those managed non-operatively (19.1 ± 8.1 weeks). CONCLUSIONS: Lower limb fragility fractures in patients with SCI can be managed successfully via either operative or non-operative measures. In this series, fewer complications and shorter time to union were found in patients managed operatively.
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