Comparison of Operative and Nonoperative Management of Elderly Fragility Pelvic Ring Fractures

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To compare outcomes of nonoperative and percutaneous fixation of geriatric fragility lateral compression 1 (LC1) pelvic ring fractures. METHODS: Design: Retrospective. Setting: Two level 1 trauma centers. Patient Selection Criteria: Included were patients who were 60 years or older with an isolated LC1 pelvic ring fracture managed nonoperatively or those who failed mobilization and were managed operatively with percutaneous sacral fixation. Patients with high-energy mechanisms of injury or polytrauma were excluded. Outcome Measures and Comparisons: The primary outcome was pain as measured by using the visual analog scale (VAS) after treatment. Secondary outcomes included length of stay, discharge disposition, mortality, readmission rates, and complications. RESULTS: In total, 231 patients were included with a mean age of 79.5 years (range 60–100). One hundred eighty-five (80.0%) patients were female. Sixty-two (26.8%) patients received percutaneous sacral fixation after failed mobilization, and 169 (73.2%) were managed nonoperatively. In the operative group, the median time to surgery was hospital day 4. Nonoperative patients were older (81.5 ± 10.0 years vs. 74.2 ± 9.4 years, P < 0.01) and had a shorter hospital length of stay (4.8 ± 6.2 days) than the operative group (10.6 ± 9.5 days, P < 0.01). Patients in the operative group had more pain (VAS 7.9 ± 3.0) than those in the nonoperative group (VAS 6.6 ± 3.0) (P = 0.01) on admission but had similar pain control postoperatively (VAS 4.4 ± 3.0) compared with the nonoperative group (VAS 4.5 ± 3.6) on the equivalent hospital day (P = 0.91). Thus, patients in the operative group experienced more improvement in pain (VAS 3.3 ± 2.7) compared with the nonoperative group (VAS 1.9 ± 3.9) after treatment (P = 0.02). Ninety-day mortality (P = 0.21) and readmission rates (P = 0.27) were similar for both groups. Two patients in the operative cohort sustained nerve injuries, whereas 1 patient in the nonoperative group had a nonunion and underwent surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergo percutaneous surgical fixation for low-energy LC1 injuries have similar discharge disposition, mortality, complication rates, and readmission rates compared with patients treated nonoperatively. Percutaneous surgical fixation may provide significant pain relief for patients who failed conservative management. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.