Smith & Nephew's Intertan Intertrochanteric Antegrade Nail for hip fracture treatment improved patient outcomes and reduced costs, according to two new studies presented at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association's 2018 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Oct. 17-20.
A meta-analysis in Rheumatology and Orthopedic Medicine compared the Intertan nail, which uses Smith & Nephew's proprietary Integrated Compression Screw, with other intertrochanteric nails using a single screw. The analysis featured twelve studies with 1,661 patients. Study authors found Intertan reduced the risk of implant-related failures by 81 percent and revision surgery by 65 percent when compared to single screw nails.
Compared to single screw nails, the Intertan nail led $2,700 in average cost savings per patient, according to a study in Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. Study authors developed a decision analytic model that assessed 1,000 patients. Cost data was obtained from the CMS website and literature and adjusted for inflation.
"These new studies demonstrate that the integrated compression screw used in the Intertan nail not only improved the clinical outcomes for these patients studied, but also reduced the cost to the overall health economic system by reducing the revision rates, compared to those that have been demonstrated in prior studies," said orthopedic traumatologist J. Tracy Watson MD, who co-authored both studies.