• Ilexa R Flagstad, Lauren M Tatman, Melissa Albersheim, Austin Heare, Harsh R Parikh, Sandy Vang, Jerald R Westberg, Danielle Ries de Chaffin, Tegan Schmidt, Mary Breslin, Natasha Simske, Alexander B Siy, Reuben C Lufrano, Andres F Rodriguez-Buitrago, Joseph T Labrum, Nichole Shaw, Arthur J Only, Jason Nadeau, Patrick Davis, Barbara Steverson, Erik A Lund, Daniel Connelly, Jared Atchison, Cyril Mauffrey, David J Hak, Julie Titter, Shawn Feinstein, Jesse Hahn, Claude Sagi, Paul S Whiting, Hassan R Mir, Andrew H Schmidt, Emily Wagstrom, William T Obremskey, Robert V O'Toole, Heather A Vallier, and Brian Cunningham.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Minnesota, 2512 South 7th Street R200, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
• Injury. 2021 Aug 1; 52 (8): 2395-2402.

IntroductionThe purpose of our study was to evaluate the factors that influence the timing of definitive fixation in the management of bilateral femoral shaft fractures and the outcomes for patients with these injuries.MethodsPatients with bilateral femur fractures treated between 1998 to 2019 at ten level-1 trauma centers were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were grouped into early or delayed fixation, which was defined as definitive fixation of both femurs within or greater than 24 hours from injury, respectively. Statistical analysis included reversed logistic odds regression to predict which variable(s) was most likely to determine timing to definitive fixation. The outcomes included age, sex, high-volume institution, ISS, GCS, admission lactate, and admission base deficit.ResultsThree hundred twenty-eight patients were included; 164 patients were included in the early fixation group and 164 patients in the delayed fixation group. Patients managed with delayed fixation had a higher Injury Severity Score (26.8 vs 22.4; p<0.01), higher admission lactate (4.4 and 3.0; p<0.01), and a lower Glasgow Coma Scale (10.7 vs 13; p<0.01). High-volume institution was the most reliable influencer for time to definitive fixation, successfully determining 78.6% of patients, followed by admission lactate, 64.4%. When all variables were evaluated in conjunction, high-volume institution remained the strongest contributor (X2 statistic: institution: 45.6, ISS: 8.83, lactate: 6.77, GCS: 0.94).ConclusionIn this study, high-volume institution was the strongest predictor of timing to definitive fixation in patients with bilateral femur fractures. This study demonstrates an opportunity to create a standardized care pathway for patients with these injuries.Level Of EvidenceLevel III.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

9 keywords...

hide…