[Proximal femoral intramedullary nail versus DHS plate for the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. A prospective analysis].
OBJECTIVE
To show that patients with intertrochanteric fractures treated with a proximal femoral nail have a better postoperative course than those treated with a DHS plate (dynamic hip screw).


METHODS
Patients with a Boyd & Griffin type II intertrochanteric fracture were randomly divided into two groups: a group of patients treated with a PFN and another one treated with a DHS plate. All patients were assessed at 2, 4, 8 and 16 weeks using the Harris scale and the visual analog scale pre- and postoperatively, as well as the operative time, incision size, intraoperative bleeding, onset of partial and/or total weight bearing, healing time, time to attain prior physical activity level, and radiographic result.


RESULTS
32 patients met our criteria. The variables that had a significant reduction were: incision, operative time, postoperative pain according to the visual analog scale, onset of mobility, partial weight bearing and pain at 2 weeks.


CONCLUSIONS
The proximal femoral nail has better short-term outcomes than the DHS plate; however, in the medium term both implants have the same outcomes.
A
A
Calderón
T
T
Ramos
F
F
Vilchez
O
O
Mendoza-Lemus
V
V
Peña
E
E
Cárdenas-Estrada
C
C
Acosta-Olivo
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001858:Bone Nails; D001860:Bone Plates; D004867:Equipment Design; D005594:Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary / Q000295:instrumentation; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000601:surgery; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011446:Prospective Studies