Intramedullary Nailing Surgery Is Successful Treatment For Patients With Femur Fractures From Use Of Fosamax Or Other Bisphosphonates

People Who Suffer These Atypical Femoral Fractures Are Well Treated With This Surgical Procedure Using Rod-Like Nail, With Low Rate Of Complications

(Posted by Tom Lamb at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

According a recent article about a presentation -- Clinical and functional outcomes in patients who sustained bisphosphonate-associated complete femur fractures. Paper #71. -- done in early October 2012 at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting:

Intramedullary nailing is a successful treatment for patients with bisphosphonate-associated complete femur fractures and displays a low rate of complications and high return to baseline function at 1 year....

In more detail, from that October 12 article published online by OrthopedicsToday, "IM nailing effective for patients with bisphosphonate-associated femur fractures":

“Our findings suggest that atypical femoral fractures are well treated with cephalomedullary nail,” Kenneth A. Egol, MD, said during his presentation at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting 2012. “They take twice as long as the typical femur fractures to heal. Two out of three patients are completely pain-free at follow-up. There was a 15% risk of an incomplete fracture. These results give physicians information to give patients who sustain these injuries.”
 
Egol and colleagues studied 68 patients who sustained 101 atypical femoral fractures associated with bisphosphonate use that were treated at one institution during a 7-year period....

The final study cohort included 35 patients with 44 complete displaced fractures and eight patients with eight incomplete fractures. The patients had an average age of 69 years and had an average 8.5 years of bisphosphonate use.

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Over the past few years we have written extensively about atypical low-stress femur fractures in patients who used Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, or other medications used to treat osteoporosis which are in the bisphosphonate class of drugs.  Here are some of our most recent articles:

Drug Injury Watch: Subtrochanteric Femoral Fractures With Use Of Oral Bisphosphonates: Fosamax, Actonel, And Boniva

 

Drug Injury Watch: Fosamax Femur Fractures: Many Impending Cases Go Unrecognized By Doctors And Radiologists Due To Subtle Characteristics

 

Drug Injury Watch: New Australian Study Supports An Apparent Association Between Long-Term Fosamax Use And Certain Types Of Femur Fractures

 

Drug Injury Watch: Risk Of Femur Fractures From Osteoporosis Drugs Fosamax, Boniva, Actonel, And Reclast Related To Number Of Years Used

 

Drug Injury Watch: 1,165 Fosamax - Femur Fracture Lawsuits Pending As Of December 31, 2011 According To Merck

 

Drug Injury Watch: Women Who Use Bisphosphonates Like Fosamax And Boniva Have Increased Risk Of Femur Fracture / Thigh Bone Breaks

 

Drug Injury Watch: How One Might Determine Whether The Femur Fracture Is Related To A Bisphosphonate Such As Fosamax

 

We will continue our coverage of bisphosphonate-related femur fractures going forward.

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