A retrospective cohort study on retrograde intramedullary nailing in management of femur fractures in tertiary care hospital at Bujumbura, Burundi

Intramedullary nailing happens to be the standard treatment for fractures. The purpose of this project is to weigh the place of retrograde intramedullary nailing in the management of femoral fractures in a surgical setting of a low-income country and to analyze the radiological and functional outcome obtained after this type of osteosynthesis. We carried out a cohort and analytical study over a period of 10 years, period between 2013 and 2023, on a total of 140 persons who experienced retrograde intramedullary nailing indicated for femur fracture in the orthopedic and traumatology department of the surgical department of a tertiary care hospital in Bujumbura, Burundi. Retrograde femoral nailing involved 27.72% (140 of 505) of patients who were treated with Centro medullary femoral nailing in general. The mean age of the patients was 42.30 years, where road accidents accounted for 77.85% of the causes of trauma. Fractures classified as AO 32C3 were in the majority (24.29%). The age of the patients was not statistically associated with knee pain (P = .61), nor with knee flexion (P = .33). However, we found a correlation between the patients' origin and knee pain (P = .01), independence of movement (P < .01) and knee flexion (P = .03). Retrograde femoral nailing remains a therapeutic method that can be used in both elderly and young subjects with satisfactory medium-term functional results.