Jaarsma, J Bone Joint Surg Br 2004 - Rotational Malalignment after Fractures of the Femur

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Rotational Malalignment after Fractures of the Femur

Jaarsma, van Kampen·J Bone Joint Surg Br·2004·78 citations·Review article

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Narrative review synthesizing the incidence, measurement methods, intraoperative causes, prevention strategies, and clinical consequences of rotational malalignment after intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures. Addresses why clinical assessment systematically underestimates the problem and how CT — despite being the gold standard — has its own meaningful measurement error.

Key Findings

≥15° rotational malalignment occurs in 20–30% of femoral IM nail patients when measured by CT — far higher than the 0–7% reported by clinical assessment series, exposing a systematic detection gap
CT torsion measurement carries a 95% repeatability coefficient of 10.8° intra-observer and 15.6° inter-observer, driven primarily by error in drawing the femoral neck axis line (6.9°) — meaning the tool used to diagnose the problem is itself imprecise
External malrotation is significantly more symptomatic than internal: patients score worse on Oxford 12-item and Knee Society scores, and are less able to compensate with neutral foot progression angle due to induced femoral neck retroversion
Intraoperative C-arm comparison of the lesser trochanter profile between injured and uninjured sides achieves mean rotational inaccuracy of ~5°, making it the most practical intraoperative control method
The AMA Guides rate 15–19° malrotation as 18% whole person impairment regardless of direction — the authors argue this underrates external and overrates internal malrotation by ignoring direction

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Rotational Malalignment after Fractures of the Femur

Jaarsma, van Kampen·J Bone Joint Surg Br·2004·78 citations·Review article

|

Narrative review synthesizing the incidence, measurement methods, intraoperative causes, prevention strategies, and clinical consequences of rotational malalignment after intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures. Addresses why clinical assessment systematically underestimates the problem and how CT — despite being the gold standard — has its own meaningful measurement error.

Key Findings

≥15° rotational malalignment occurs in 20–30% of femoral IM nail patients when measured by CT — far higher than the 0–7% reported by clinical assessment series, exposing a systematic detection gap
CT torsion measurement carries a 95% repeatability coefficient of 10.8° intra-observer and 15.6° inter-observer, driven primarily by error in drawing the femoral neck axis line (6.9°) — meaning the tool used to diagnose the problem is itself imprecise
External malrotation is significantly more symptomatic than internal: patients score worse on Oxford 12-item and Knee Society scores, and are less able to compensate with neutral foot progression angle due to induced femoral neck retroversion
Intraoperative C-arm comparison of the lesser trochanter profile between injured and uninjured sides achieves mean rotational inaccuracy of ~5°, making it the most practical intraoperative control method
The AMA Guides rate 15–19° malrotation as 18% whole person impairment regardless of direction — the authors argue this underrates external and overrates internal malrotation by ignoring direction

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