Treatment of Proximal Femur Osteomyelitis Occurred after Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation Fixation, with Antibiotic Cement-coated Tibia Intramedullary Nail: A Case Report

Antibiotic cement-coated intramedullary nails maintain a locally high antibiotic concentration while contributing to bone stability. We present a case of femoral subtrochanteric fracture in a patient with an infected nonunion who was successfully treated for an infection and nonunion using an antibiotic cement-coated tibial intramedullary nail. A 79-year-old woman with a right femoral subtrochanteric fracture underwent internal fixation using proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA). She developed osteomyelitis with nonunion at the surgical site 10 months postoperatively. We decided to insert an antibiotic cement-coated tibial intramedullary nail. After coating the nail with bone cement mixed with antibiotics, bone fixation was achieved by inserting the nail at the site of the PFNA. The patient's symptoms improved, symptoms from the infection disappeared, and bone union was confirmed. Osteomyelitis occurred because of postoperative infection following a proximal femoral fracture. Antibiotic cement-coated tibial intramedullary nails are an effective option to treat patients with osteomyelitis of the femur and achieve bone union where nonunion persists with shallow a intramedullary femoral canal.