Perioperative adverse events in distal femur fractures treated with intramedullary nail versus plate and screw fixation

BackgroundTo compare 30-day outcomes in patients treated for a distal femur (DF) fracture with plate fixation (PF) or intramedullary nail (IMN).MethodsDifferences in rates of any adverse events (AAE), serious adverse events (SAE), infectious complications, and mortality were explored between groups in the ACS-NSQIP database.ResultsThere were 511 PF and 44 IMN patients. The PF group and IMN groups had similar rates of AAEs (p = 0.35), SAEs (p = 0.46), infectious complications (p = 1.00), and mortality (p = 0.39).ConclusionsDF fractures treated with IMN have equivalent short-term outcomes compared to those treated with PF.