Objectives:
To evaluate bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC) use in the treatment of AFF.
Design:
Retrospective case control.
Setting:
Level 1 trauma center.
Patients:
Complete AFF, defined according to American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) criteria, from September 2009 to April 2015 with minimum 1-year follow-up.
Intervention:
Operative treatment with antegrade intramedullary nails. Beginning June 2014, BMAC from the ipsilateral iliac crest was added to all AFFs.
Main Outcome Measurements:
Time to union as determined by a blinded panel of 3 attending orthopaedic surgeons, union rates, complications.
Results:
Thirty-five patients with 36 AFFs were reviewed, of which 33 AFFs were included and 11 received BMAC. Alendronate was the most commonly prescribed bisphosphonate, with a similar mean duration of use in controls and BMAC cases (5.6 versus 6 years, P = 0.79). BMAC use significantly decreased time to union (3.5 versus 6.8 months, P = 0.004). Varus malreduction was associated with a significant delay in union (9.7 versus 4.7 months, P = 0.04). Overall, 1 year union rate was 86.2% and nonsignificantly higher in BMAC compared with controls (100.0% versus 77.3%, P = 0.11). Multivariate analysis revealed BMAC and varus malreduction as independent predictors of time to union. There were no complications related to BMAC use.
Conclusion:
Our findings support intramedullary nailing of AFFs as an effective treatment option with a low surgical complication rate and highlight the importance of avoiding varus malreduction. BMAC use significantly reduced time to fracture union without an increase in surgical complication rates.
Level of Evidence:
Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
