ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Surg.
Sec. Orthopedic Surgery
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2025.1614146
Comparative Analysis of Adolescent Intramedullary Nailing and Locking Plate Fixation for Femoral Shaft Fractures
Provisionally accepted
Jian Huang1
Yiqun Bian2*- 1Liaocheng People's Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong Province, China
- 2Liaocheng Third People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, China
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Background: Femoral shaft fractures in adolescents are commonly treated with either antegrade intramedullary nailing (AIN) or lateral plate (LP) fixation. This study compared the clinical outcomes of these two methods.Methods: Adolescent patients with femoral shaft fractures were randomly assigned to either the AIN group (n=62) or the LP group (n=62). Surgical parameters, early recovery metrics, levels of inflammatory cytokines, pain mediators, and bone metabolism markers were assessed.The AIN group had significantly shorter incision lengths (6.8 cm vs. 8.5 cm, p < 0.001) and lower intraoperative blood loss (120 ml vs. 170 ml, p < 0.001) compared to the LP group. AIN patients began weight-bearing activities earlier (34 days vs. 47 days, p < 0.01). Three months post-operation, the AIN group showed superior proximal femoral geometry and hip function, with a higher non-arthritic hip score (NAHS, 87 vs. 75, p < 0.001). One-week post-operation, the AIN group had lower serum levels of inflammatory cytokines and pain mediators, indicating a reduced inflammatory response and less postoperative pain.Conclusions: AIN offers significant advantages over LP in treating adolescent femoral shaft fractures, including reduced surgical trauma, faster early recovery, lower inflammatory response, less postoperative pain, and enhanced bone healing.
Keywords: Adolescent femoral shaft fractures, Antegrade intramedullary nailing, bone healing, Inflammation, Lateral plate fixation
Received: 28 Apr 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang and Bian. 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: Yiqun Bian, Liaocheng Third People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, China
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