2025 SICOT Annual Meeting: Randomized controlled trial to compare functional outcomes between locking compression plates and retrograde intramedullary nails in distal femur fractures

96 patients with closed AO 33A2/3 distal femur fractures were randomized to receive locking compression plate (LCP) fixation or retrograde intramedullary nail (RIMN) fixation; group allocation numbers were not reported. The primary outcome of interest was functional outcome measured using the Wilde modification of the Neer knee score. Secondary outcomes included fracture healing assessed using the Radiographic Union Score for Tibial fractures (RUST) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-10 (PROMIS-10). Outcomes were assessed at 6 months. Overall, the results revealed no significant difference in functional outcome between LCP and RIMN fixation (p=0.968). RIMN demonstrated a higher healing rate, while physical HRQoL differed significantly between groups. These findings suggest that both fixation strategies provide comparable short-term functional recovery, although differences may exist in healing and physical quality of life.