ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Clinical and Translational Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1603323
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Endothelial Injury Syndromes: Mechanisms, Markers, and Therapeutic PotentialView all 9 articles
Changes in serum NO, ET-1, and VEGF after cannulated screw fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures and their relationship with femoral head necrosis
Provisionally accepted- 1Shidong Hospital Affiliated to University of, Shanghai, China
- 2Reproductive Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
- 3Shidong Hospital Affiliated to University of Shanghai, Shanghai, China
- 4Shidong Hospital Affiliated to University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
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Background: Femoral head necrosis (FHN) is one of the most serious complications in patients with femoral neck fractures (FNF) after cannulated screw fixation. Therefore, it is critical to predict the occurrence of FHN.Methods: FHN was diagnosed through clinical symptoms and imaging examinations.The serum levels of nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in FNF patients were measured preoperatively and on postoperative days 3 and 5 using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The predictive value of NO, ET-1, and VEGF was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The odds ratio (OR) for the risk factors of FHN was analyzed using multivariate logistic analysis.The serum levels of NO and VEGF decreased post-surgery in patients with FNF, with a more pronounced decrease in those who subsequently developed FHN, whereas patients who did not develop FHN showed no significant changes in these levels.Conversely, the serum level of ET-1 increased after surgery in FNF patients, with a marked rise in those who experienced FHN, while no significant change was observed in patients without FHN. ROC analysis indicated that serum levels of NO, ET-1, and VEGF have predictive value for FHN occurrence in FNF patients, with the highest predictive accuracy observed on day 5 post-surgery (Serum NO had the AUC (95% CI) of 0.74 (0.67 to 0.81), 0.70 (0.62 to 0.78) for ET-1 and 0.73 (0.65 to 0.80) for VEGF, p < 0.001 for all). Operation time after fracture ≥ 48 h, Garden classification of III and IV, Panwels classification of III, Serum ET-1 at 3 days post operation > 75.24 pg/mL were independent risk factors for FHN occurrence but Serum NO at 3 days post operation > 35.98 nmol/mL, Serum NO at 5 days post operation > 33.62 nmol/mL, Serum VEGF at 5 days post operation > 66.45 pg/mL were protective factors.In patients with FNF who developed FHN, serum levels of NO and VEGF were reduced, while ET-1 levels were elevated, compared to those who did not develop FHN. Furthermore, on day 5 post-surgery, these three markers provided the strongest predictive value for the occurrence of FHN in FNF patients.
Keywords: femoral head necrosis, Femoral Neck Fractures, Nitric Oxide, Endothelin-1, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 08 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Wang, Cao and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kewei Du, Shidong Hospital Affiliated to University of Shanghai, Shanghai, China
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