Femoral Shaft Fracture
Conditions
Brief summary
The primary goal of this study is to test the hypothesis that skeletal traction allows for easier intraoperative reduction time by comparing the reduction time in patients that receive skeletal traction for femoral shaft fracture to those that do not. Secondary goals are to assess the claims of improved pain control and decreased blood loss in patients that receive skeletal traction for femoral shaft fracture to those that do not.
Detailed description
Traction is a practice dating back thousands of years, historically used for the definitive treatment of femoral shaft fractures. With advances in surgical care, traction is no longer regularly used for definitive treatment. However, traction is commonly used preoperatively with the claimed benefits of fracture stabilization allowing for improved pain control, restoration of limb length with easier operative reduction, and controlling bleeding by decreasing compartmental volume. However, studies have begun to question the utility of skeletal traction in patients with femoral shaft fractures. While pre-hospital traction splints may provide added pain control for patients with femoral shaft fractures as they are transported to the hospital, skeletal traction may not provide the same pain control benefits in the inpatient setting. Dr. Bumpass and colleagues prospectively compared patients with femoral shaft fractures placed into distal femoral traction to those that were splinted. The authors demonstrated that while patients that were splinted reported higher pain scores during application, pain scores after immobilization were not different between the two groups. Retrospective and prospective investigations of traction for femoral shaft fractures have failed to demonstrate easier operative reduction or decreased blood loss. Koerner et al retrospectively evaluated patients with femoral shaft fractures that underwent definitive intramedullary nailing within 24 hours of presentation. The authors demonstrated no difference in blood loss, transfusion requirement, or need for open reduction between patients placed in skeletal traction and patients placed in lower extremity splints. Similarly, in their randomized controlled trial Even et al demonstrated no difference in reduction time for patients with femoral shaft fractures fixed within 24 hours that received skeletal traction or skin traction preoperatively. To the investigator's knowledge, no study has prospectively compared surgical time, pain control, and blood loss for patients that receive preoperative skeletal traction to splinting for femoral shaft fractures that receive intramedullary nailing within 24 hours of presentation. Skeletal traction has a long history in orthopaedic surgery for the treatment of femoral shaft fractures, but may be unnecessary for patients that are surgically treated within 24 hours of presentation. The primary goal of this study is to test the hypothesis that skeletal traction allows for easier intraoperative reduction time by comparing the reduction time in patients that receive skeletal traction for femoral shaft fracture to those that do not. Secondary goals are to assess the claims of improved pain control and decreased blood loss in patients that receive skeletal traction for femoral shaft fracture to those that do not.
Interventions
PROCEDUREFemoral shaft splinting
A splint of the broken thigh bone
PROCEDURESkeletal traction
A pin through the bone with weights attached
Sponsors
University of Chicago
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Randomized controlled trial. Subgroups will be determined using equal block randomization. Block randomization will be used for this study. Blocks will be set to groups of 4 with each block of 4 comprising 2 traction and 2 splint opaque envelopes in random order. The envelope will be stored in the office of the principle investigator and opened following subject enrollment. This ensures subjects are blinded to their initial treatment modality. Standard of care will be followed for all clinical decisions beyond the type of stabilization procedure to be used.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Any adult patient (ages 18 and over) with a femoral shaft fracture that is treated with intramedullary nailing within 24 hours of presentation
Exclusion criteria
* Patients younger than 18 * Polytraumatized patients * Patients with pathological fractures * Patients with femoral shaft fracture not amenable to intramedullary nailing
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Time to reduce a femoral shaft fracture | Within 24 hours of presentation | Time to reduce a femoral shaft fracture is decreased in patients that receive preoperative traction. Time measured in minutes. Short time means faster time to reduction. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in preoperative opiate requirement | 24 hours from presentation | To see if Patients that receive preoperative traction for a femoral shaft fracture have a change in preoperative opiate requirement as measured by morphine equivalents/kg/hr. More morphine means lower pain control. |
| Change in transfusion requirement | Within 24 hours of presentation | To determine if patients that receive preoperative traction for a femoral shaft fracture have a change in transfusion requirement. Measured by total liters of blood given to patient during surgery. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed