Femoral neck fractures: can physiologic status determine treatment choice?

In patients with displaced femoral neck fractures, meta-analysis data show revision rates of 35% after internal fixation and 16% after hemiarthroplasty. A published physiologic status score management protocol, which selects for either treatment, suggests lower revision rates can be achieved but it has not been confirmed. The physiologic status score included subscores for mobility, accommodation, bone density, cognition, and American Society of Anesthesiologists class. We asked whether treatment selection with the physiologic status score could indeed reduce revision rates compared with meta-analysis data and whether surgical technique influenced results. In a prospective multicenter 2-year followup trial we enrolled 115 patients selected for internal fixation and 109 for hemiarthroplasty, aged 60 to 90 years. Healthier mobile patients underwent internal fixation and patients with a lower physiologic status score had hemiarthroplasty. The 2-year revision rate was 40% after internal fixation (above meta-analysis rate) and 3% after hemiarthroplasty (below meta-analysis rate). After a panel identified and excluded 15 technical failure cases, patients younger than 80 years with a high physiologic status score had a one in four revision rate of internal fixation, whereas older patients had a one in two revision rate. Although the revision rate was indeed low after hemiarthroplasty, treatment choice based on physiologic status does not substantially improve clinical decision making.