Should fractures of the top part of the upper arm bone be treated surgically? Results of the ProFHER Trial
Posted on 10 March 2015
It found, among patients with the more serious type of fracture of the upper arm bone, there was no significant difference between surgical treatment compared with nonsurgical treatment in patient-reported clinical outcomes over two years.
The current treatment for this increasingly common injury, in people aged over 65, involves either putting the arm in a sling or surgery, but clinicians were unsure which treatment had the best outcome.
The results of the study do not support the trend of increased surgery in patients who have broken this bone. This could lead to considerable cost savings to the NHS.
The Department of Health Sciences Trials Unit has worked on this research project, called the ProFHER Trial, since 2008 with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Teesside University.
Dr Stephen Brealey, Trial Manager at York, said: "This trial has involved a huge team effort over several years to provide the evidence to guide treatment on this common and serious injury. Crucially, these findings will help to change clinical practice as we can reassure patients that they would not do any better if they had surgery".
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2190987
Funding Acknowledgement:
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research [NIHR Health Technology Assessment] (project number 06/404/53).