Outcomes of Surgical or Nonsurgical Management of Fractures of the Proximal Humerus Are Similar

Fractures of the proximal humerus often occur in older women with osteoporosis. The traditional approach is conservative treatment with partial immobilization, but, recently, operative intervention has become more common. In this multisite U.K. study, researchers randomized 250 patients (mean age, 66; mostly white women) within 3 weeks of presentation with displaced fractures of the surgical neck of the humerus to surgical or nonsurgical care. In the surgical group, 109 patients received internal fixation or hemiarthroplasty (16 crossed over to nonsurgical care), and, in the nonsurgical group, 123 patients received conservative care with sling immobilization (2 crossed over to surgical care). Patients with a wide range of medical comorbidit…