Internal fixation or arthroplasty for displaced cervical hip fractures in the elderly: a randomised controlled trial of 208 patients.

208 patients aged over 70 years with a displaced cervical hip fracture were admitted to a prospective randomised trial of internal fixation using 3 parallel cannulated screws or an uncemented Austin Moore hemiarthroplasty. All surviving patients were followed for a minimum of 3 years. Functional assessment of survivors at 1, 2 and 3 years from injury showed no significant difference between groups. Patients treated by the fixation had a marginally lower mortality rate. Other outcomes which favoured internal fixation were a lower risk of wound infection, reduced length of surgery (22 minutes versus 47 minutes), lower operative blood loss (23 mL versus 172 mL), and lower transfusion requirements (4/102 patients versus 18/106). However, internal fixation had a significantly greater re-admission rate (24/102 versus 7/106) and re-operation rate. Following internal fixation, 44 re-operations were required in 36 patients, while re-operation was required in only 4 patients treated with arthroplasty. The results of this randomised trial indicate that both procedures produce comparable final functional outcomes for the survivors.