Senior Consultant Alexander Nilsskog Fraser at the Orthopaedic Department and the REMEDY Center at Diakonhjemmet Hospital received a prestigious award at the European EFORT [1] Congress in May 2024. The five-year results from the DelPhi study could influence future guidelines.
Alexander Nilsskog Fraser received first prize for five-year follow-up of the Delphi study: Older patients with the most severe shoulder fractures have significantly better results after surgery with reverse shoulder prosthesis compared to surgery with plate and screws. On the left, EFORT President David Limb.
Multicenter study
The DelPhi study is a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing reverse shoulder arthroplasty with plate fixation as surgical treatment for elderly patients with displaced fractures of the proximal humerus. Project leader Tore Fjalestad started the DelPhi study in 2013, and Fraser defended his PhD on, among other things, the 2-year results of the study in 2023. In addition to Ullevål Hospital, six other hospitals participated, including Diakonhjemmet Hospital.
Study design and implementation
The comprehensive study is a collaboration between orthopedists, radiologists, and physiotherapists at each of the hospitals, who have participated with inclusion, surgery, follow-up, and reporting on how patients score on various measurement points.
– Thanks to funding from the Research Council, through REMEDY, it has been possible for me to contribute to processing data and writing the DelPhi 5-year study as part of my postdoctoral period, says Alexander Nilsskog Fraser.
Publication and international interest
The two-year results from the study were published in the renowned American journal Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (JBJS Am), and recently the five-year article was accepted for publication in the same journal.
“There has been significant interest in the study both nationally and internationally,” says Fraser.
In addition to the Norwegian Orthopedic Autumn Meeting and Nordic forums, the study has been presented at several major orthopedic congresses in Europe and the USA.
Award-winning research
EFORT is a European organization that links national orthopedic societies, focuses on education and research and is known for its EFORT Open Reviews abstracts. Each year, 40 abstracts in the categories "Trauma" and "Orthopedics" are nominated for the EFORT Best Paper Prize, and this year the DelPhi 5-year study won the coveted first prize in the Trauma category.
The importance of 5-year results
Fraser explains that five years of follow-up is crucial for how to assess the results, as two years of follow-up is considered short in the prosthetic context.
“The data from the DelPhi study are unique as no five-year RCT [2] data on reverse shoulder arthroplasty as a treatment for shoulder fractures has been previously published. Older patients with the most severe fractures have significantly better clinical outcomes with reverse shoulder arthroplasty compared with plate fixation,” he says.
Fraser extends a big thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the study, including orthopedists, radiologists and physiotherapists at each participating hospital.
– The great effort from many has been crucial to improving the treatment of shoulder fractures in the elderly, emphasizes Alexander Nilsskog Fraser.
Read more:
Awards Winners 2024 - EFORT Congress Hamburg 2024 - EFORT
Fracture of the upper part of the humerus - Oslo University Hospital HF
Dissertation on complicated upper arm fractures - Diakonhjemmet Hospital
Public Defence: Alexander Nilsskog Fraser - Institute of Clinical Medicine
[1] The European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology
[2] Randomized controlled trial
