Intramedullary nails with cannulated screw fixation for the treatment of unstable femoral neck fractures

OBJECTIVE: Unstable femoral neck fractures are typically high-angled shear fractures caused by high-energy trauma. Internal fixation of femoral neck fractures with placement of parallel cannulated screws in an inverted triangle configuration is commonly performed in the clinical setting. This study was performed to investigate the primary results of intramedullary nailing with cannulated screws for the treatment of unstable femoral neck fractures in young and middle-aged patients. METHODS: In total, 96 consecutive patients with no history of hip surgery using inverted triangular cannulated compression screws or construction nails with cannulated screws were reviewed. Their demographic and radiological data were retrospectively collected from our institutional database. RESULTS: Inverted cannulated screws had an excellent effect on decreasing the blood loss volume and incision size, but intramedullary nails exhibited superior advantages in decreasing screw exit and shortening the hospital stays. The Harris hip scores were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Intramedullary fixation with cannulated screws has advantages in treating complicated femoral neck fractures. Besides cannulated screws, intramedullary fixation with cannulated screws might be another method to treat unstable femoral neck fractures in young and middle-aged patients. The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. Unique Protocol ID: 11156458. The ClinicalTrial number is NCT03550079.