Timothy Lukins, Lana Nguyen, Mitchell A. Hansen, Richard D. Ferch


June 2021, Volume 30, Issue 6, pp 1551 - 1555 Original Article Read Full Article 10.1007/s00586-020-06694-z

First Online: 22 February 2021

Objective

Compare short-term mortality rates following operative and nonoperative management of geriatric patients following an acute type II odontoid process fracture.

Methods

One hundred forty-one patients with a type II odontoid fracture were identified from a single centre between 2002 and 2018. Patient demographics, details of injury and management, plus mortality data were collected. The incidence of mortality at 3 and 12 months was calculated, and a multivariate model built which included the treatment modality variable and allowed adjustment for six individual confounders.

Results

Of the 141 patients with a type II odontoid process fracture, 39 were managed operatively, while 102 were managed nonoperatively. Relative to the nonoperative group, the operative group was younger (79.0 ± 7.0 vs. 83.7 ± 7.6), more likely to have odontoid angulation > 15° (74.4% vs. 43.1%, p  2 mm (74.4% vs. 31.4%, p 

Conclusion

In contrast to the findings of a number of previous studies, operative management may not influence survival at 3- and 12-months.


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