BACKGROUND: Artificial femoral head replacement is superior to dynamic hip screws (DHS) in treating elderly intertrochanteric fracture.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effects between artificial femoral head replacement and DHS in treating elderly intertrochanteric fracture.
METHODS: The databases of PubMed, Medline, CNKI and VIP were searched online. All the trials comparing artificial femoral head replacement with dynamic hip screws in elderly intertrochanteric fracture were included. Data of baseline information, operation time, bleeding amounts, hospitalization time, weight-bearing time, complication rate, Harris score and the excellent rate were collected and meta-analyzed with RevMan5.0.25.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Eleven trials with 1 227 patients were included, including 587 artificial femoral head replacement and 640 DHS. The meta-analysis showed that there were no significant differences in operation time and bleeding amounts between the two groups. However, the hospitalization time was shorter [RR=-2.56, 95%CI (-3.27, -1.85), P < 0.000 01], the weight-bearing time was earlier [RR=-50.09, 95%CI (-62.73, -37.45), P < 0.000 01], the complication rate was lower [RR=0.39, 95%CI (0.28, 0.55), P < 0.000 01], the Harris score was higher [RR=4.19, 95%CI (3.04, 5.34), P < 0.000 01] and the excellent rate at final follow-up was higher [RR=2.25, 95%CI (1.49, 3.40), P=0.000 1] in the artificial femoral head replacement group. Results indicate that artificial femoral head replacement would not increase the operation time and bleeding amounts, but would shorten the hospitalization time and weight-bearing time, reduce the complication rate and improve the function. Artificial femoral head replacement is recommended in treating elderly intertrochanteric fracture due to its obvious superiority.