Comparison of Different Fixation Confi gurations in Different Types of High Pediatric Supracondylar Humerus Fractures: a Finite Element Analysis.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study is to compare the stability of different fi xation methods in high pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures with a fi nite element analysis method. MATERIAL AND METHODS Transverse, lateral oblique, and medial oblique fracture models were created in a ten years old boy's distal humerus. Eight different fi xation methods were applied to each fracture model. Displacement of the fracture models was measured under the translational and torsional forces. RESULTS In the transverse fracture model; the 6th method provided the best stability in internal rotation, external rotation, and extension loading. In varus 7th method, valgus 8th, and fl exion the 5th and 2nd methods had the best stability. In the lateral oblique fracture model; the 7th method had the best stability in all loading directions except fl exion and the 6th method had the best stability in fl exion and had acceptable values in all other directions except valgus and external rotation. In the medial oblique fracture model; the 6th method had the best stability in all directions except varus. 3rd method was the best fi xation type against varus and the second stable fi xation type in all other directions. CONCLUSIONS Combining lateral antegrade with lateral retrograde wire and lateral condylomedullary wire provides strong stability in the lateral oblique fracture. Two condylomedullary Kirchner wires and one antegrade lateral wire results in a strong stability in the medial oblique fracture. Medial-lateral condylomedullary and lateral antegrade wires provided the best stability against varus in transverse and lateral oblique fractures. KEY WORDS: high pediatric supracondylar humerus fracture, percutaneous fi xation method, metaphyseal-diaphyseal junction, fi nite element analysis.

Reliability of Evaluation of the Surgeon-Dependent Factors Affecting Mechanical Failure after Intertrochanteric Femur Fracture Treatment.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The intertrochanteric femur fractures seen in the elderly population are usually treated surgically. Mechanical failure of this treatment is a serious complication and to prevent this, many assessment factors have been described such as tip-apex distance, reduction quality etc. The aim of this study is to evaluate the intra- and inter-observer reliability of modifiable factors evaluated after the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures. MATERIAL AND METHODS The early post-operative radiographs of sixty-two patients treated with PFN-A were evaluated. Six observers with 8 to 27 years of experience in hip trauma surgery were asked to measure tip apex distance (TAD), calcar referenced TAD (calTAD), collo-diaphyseal angle (CDA) and evaluate the position of helical blade and also fracture reductions according to Baumgaertner and Chang criteria on these radiographs. Fleiss kappa and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) values were calculated for inter-observer and intra-observer reliability assessment, respectively. RESULTS Inter-observer reliability values for both evaluations were moderate (fleiss κ: 0.417-0.455) for TAD measurements, moderate (fleiss κ: 0.418-0.458) for calTAD measurements, fair (fleiss κ: 0.302-0.288) for CDA measurements, substantial (fleiss κ: 0.606-0.631) for antero-posterior zone evaluation, moderate (fleiss κ: 0.550-0.546) for lateral zone assessment, fair-moderate (fleiss κ: 0.353-0.453) for Baumgaertner reduction quality assessment, and fair-moderate (fleiss κ: 0.365- 0.456) for Chang reduction quality assessment. Intra-observer reliabilities were found to be moderate to good for TAD and calTAD measurements, moderate for CDA measurements, good to excellent for AP and lateral zone and Baumgaertner reduction quality criteria assessments and good for Chang reduction quality criteria assessment. DISCUSSION There is no large data on the subject of the present study in the literature. There is a single article evaluating the reliability of more than one evaluation criteria in which only two observers' findings were evaluated in the literature. As in our study, more accurate inferences can be made with the increase in the number of observers. Unlike the literature, the inter-observer reliabilities of TAD and calTAD which have a very important place in the postoperative evaluation of these fractures were found as "moderate'' instead of "excellent'' in our study, CONCLUSIONS It was determined that only the inter-observer reliability of antero-posterior zone evaluation was substantial. The inter-observer reliability of all other measurements and evaluations were fair to moderate. Key words: Intertrochanteric fractures, reliability, measurements, reduction quality; TAD, calTAD.

Direct Radiography Following Fracture Reduction Improves the Reliability of Pauwels Classification.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Pauwels classification system is widely used to classify the femoral neck fractures. Even its widely usage there are severals debates about its reliability. After the femoral neck fracture occured the lower extremity rotates externally and this external rotation deformity could lead to misevaluation of Pauwels angle at the initial radiographs. The purpose of our study is to investigate whether the reliability of Pauwels classification increases after reduction of femoral neck fractures. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two power point presentation was prepared with 117 slides that include antero-posterior radiographs of each femoral neck fracture. The first one included preoperatively taken radiographs and the second one included early postoperatively taken radiographs. Eight observers evaluated these radiographs and they classified the fractures according to Pauwels classification system. After 3 months, the order of the slides were changed for each presentation and the observers were asked to evaluate the radiographs again. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were calculated for evaluation of inter- and intra-observer reliability. RESULTS The mean intra-observer agreement of preoperative evaluation was 0.406 (0.071-0.626) and the interobserver agreements were 0.263 (0.197-0.342) and 0.359 (0.287-0.447), respectively. The intra-observer agreement of postoperative evaluation was 0.508 (0.393-0.757), inter-observer agreements were 0.427 (0.353-0.509) and 0.431 (0.356-0.513), respectively. According to preoperative and postoperative evaluations, 6 of 8 observers' intra-observer agreements were found to be increased and the remaining 2 decreased. Interobserver reliability was improved from poor to fair-good values after evaluating the reducted fracture radiographs. DISCUSSION Femoral neck fractures(FNF) are common and anatomical reduction and internal fixation are preferred as a treatment option in young people and patients have good bone quality. Pauwels classification system is used for classify the FNF based on the shearing angle of the fracture line. As this angle increases, the fracture becomes unstable and nowadays stronger fixation devices are preferred for unstable fractures. Therefore, misevaluation of the fracture can lead to wrong treatment method selection. Non-optimal X-rays taken in the emergency rooms may cause misinterpretation of femoral neck fractures according to Pauwels classification system. We hypothized that the reliability of this classification system could be improved after reduction of the fracture. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that classifying the femoral neck fracture according to Pauwels classification system is more confidential after the reduction, however we can not state that it's reliability is adequate. Key words: femoral neck fracture, Pauwels classification, reliability, inter-observer, intra-observer.

The Effect of Plaster of Paris on Reliabilities of RUST and mRUST Scoring Systems.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The aim of our study is to investigate the reliabilities of the radiographic union score for tibial fracture (RUST) and modified RUST scoring systems in the evaluation of fracture healing in adult tibia fractures treated with intramedullary nailing and pediatric tibia fractures treated with closed reduction and cast immobilization and to compare the reliabilities between two groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between January 2016 and January 2020, the informations of patients (ages of 4-10) with tibia fractures treated with closed reduction and casting and patients (aged 18-65 years) with tibia fractures treated with intramedullary nailing were analyzed retrospectively. Forty-seven good quality AP and lateral radiographs (represent different healing stages) each for pediatric and adult fracture groups were selected and were included in two PPTs separately. The radiographs were assessed twice with an interval of three weeks by an observer group consisting of four senior orthopedic surgeons and four orthopedic residents, and fractures were evaluated according to the RUST and mRUST scoring systems. RESULTS The inter-observer agreement of RUST and mRUST were 'perfect' in adult tibia fractures and 'substantial' in pediatric tibia fractures in both evaluations. However, in deciding fracture consolidation, inter-observer agreement was found to be 'perfect' in pediatric tibia fractures, while it was 'substantial' in adult fractures in both assessments. The mean intra-observer reliability of RUST system in adult tibia fractures was 0.860 (0.674-0.968) and 0.818 (0.693-0.909) in pediatric tibia fractures, respectively. The mean intra-observer agreement of mRUST system was 0.842(0.745-0.979) in adult fractures and 0.857 (0.756-0.932) in pediatric fractures, respectively. The mean intra-observer reliability of decision on union was 0.842 (0.638-1.000) in adult fractures and 0.785 (0.611-0.977) in pediatric fractures, respectively. DISCUSSION The decision of union in tibia shaft fractures is based on repeated clinical and radiological evaluations but there are no universally accepted guidelines to evaluate radiographic union. It has been shown in previous studies that the RUST and mRUST scoring systems can be used safely in the evaluation of fracture healing in adult patients with tibia fracture treated with intra-medullary nailing. To our knowledge, there are no studies investigating the reliability of RUST and mRUST systems in conservatively treated pediatric tibial fractures. We hypothesized that the plaster of Paris makes it difficult to assess fracture union on direct radiographs and reduce the reliabilities of these scoring systems in pediatric tibial fractures. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that both RUST and mRUST scoring systems are useful tools that can be used safely assessing fracture healing in both pediatric and adult tibia fractures. The presence of a plaster of Paris on the extremity did not adversely affect the inter-observer and intra-observer agreement of the RUST and mRUST scoring systems. Key words: pediatric tibia fracture, radiographic union score for tibial fracture (RUST), modified RUST, radiographic union, reliability.