Atif Shahzad, Farooq Azam Khan, Nisar Ahmed, Jawad Asghar Chishti, Zahid Bashir, Zakria Tariq.
Correlation of Femoral Length and Forearm Plus Little Finger Length for Measurement of Intramedullary Nail Length for Femoral Fracture Fixation.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Jan ;5(2):71-4.

Objective: To determine the correlation between the femoral length and the forearm plus little finger length for the measurement of intramedullary femoral nail length for the femoral fracture fixation. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Orthopaedic Department of the Services Hospital, Lahore. The study was approved by the ethical committee of the institution. The study included 120 adults of either gender and age 18-50 years with femoral shaft fractures by nonprobability consecutive sampling technique. After taking informed written consent from the patients, their demographic profile was noted on proforma. The femoral length was recorded with the help of a measuring tape from the superior pole of the patella to the greater trochanter of the intact femur and recorded in centimeters. The forearm plus little finger length was measured with the help of a measuring tape from the olecranon process of the ulna to the tip of the little finger and recorded in centimeters. The length of the nail used was recorded as well. Data analysis was done by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: In this study, the mean age of the patients was 33.12?10.65 years. There were 77(64.2%) male and 43(35.8%) female patients. According to body mass index, 29(24.2%) patients were obese and 91(75.8%) patients were non-obese. A total of 62(51.7%) patients had left sided fracture and 58(48.3%) patients had the right side involved. In this study, the mean femoral length was 41.47 1.64 cm. The mean length of the forearm plus little finger was 41.47 1.71 cm. Correlation of femoral length and length of forearm plus little finger was positively significant (r=0.885, p-value <0.00001). Conclusion: Measurement of the forearm plus little finger length is a convenient method to determine the femoral length for intramedullary nailing. In our study, a significant correlation is found between the forearm plus little finger length and the femoral length. It can also be used in patients with bilateral fractures of the femur. Hence, it can be implemented in clinical practice to avoid other expensive and possibly harmful means. Keywords: Femoral fracture. Forearm plus little finger length. Femoral length. Intramedullary nail.

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