Femoral fractures in road traffic accidents

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the severity of road traffic accidents in which a femoral fracture was identified, comparatively, in ante and post-mortem cases. For this purpose we have conducted a retrospective study, using the archives of the National Institute of Legal Medicine from which were selected 82 consecutive cases of clinical medicallegal expertises and 100 cases of autopsy (AR) reports for road traffic accidents. Femoral fractures were identified in 34 cases, of which 12 were in clinical cases and 22 in necropsy cases. Femoral shaft fractures were significantly associated with a lethal outcome, whilst fractures of the proximal extremity were significantly associated with a non-fatal outcome. Femoral fractures have a tendency to occur at younger ages compared with the cases in which such a lesion was not identified. Conclusions. Femoral shaft fractures were more frequent in younger males and fractures of the proximal extremity in older female patients. The presence of a femoral fracture (especially if it is involved the femoral shaft) is associated with an increased risk for an unfavorable outcome.