Cervical hip fracture in a Finnish population: incidence and mortality

The basic mobility status upon acute hospital discharge is an independent risk factor for mortality up to 5 years after hip fracture surgery

Background and purpose - Mortality rates following hip fracture (HF) surgery are high. We evaluated the influence of the basic mobility status on acute hospital discharge to 1- and 5-year mortality rates after HF. Patients and methods - 444 patients with HF ≥60 years (mean age 81 years, 77% women) being pre-fracture ambulatory and admitted from their own homes, were consecutively included in an in-hospital enhanced recovery program and followed for 5 years. The Cumulated Ambulation Score (CAS, 0-6 points, 6 points equals independence) was used to evaluate the basic mobility status on hospital discharge. Results - 102 patients with a CAS <6 stayed in the acute ward a median of 22 (15-32) days post-surgery as compared with a median of 12 (8-16) days for those 342 patients who achieved a CAS =6. Overall 1-year mortality was 16%; in those with CAS <6 it was 30% and in those with CAS =6 it was 12%. Corresponding data for 5-year deaths were 78% and 50%. Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated that the likelihood of not surviving the first 5 years after hip fracture was 1.5 times higher for those with a CAS <6 and for men; 2 times higher for those 80 years or older; increased by 50% per point higher ASA grade; and was reduced by 11% per point higher New Mobility Score, when adjusted for the cognitive and fracture type status. Interpretation - Further studies focused on interventions that improve the basic mobility status of patients with HF should be instigated within the early time period following surgery.

Epidemiology of fractures of the proximal third of the femur in elderly patients

Objective

This was an epidemiological study on fractures of the proximal third of the femur in elderly patients who were treated at a teaching hospital in the central region of São Paulo.

Methods

The subjects were patients over the age of 60 years who were attended over a 1-year period. A questionnaire seeking basic sociodemographic data and information on comorbidities presented and medications used was drawn up. The circumstances of the fractures and their characteristics, the treatment instituted and the intra-hospital mortality rate were evaluated.

Results

The 113 patients included in the study presented a mean age of 79 years. The ratio between the sexes was three women to each man. Only 30.4% of the patients reported having osteoporosis and only 0.9% had had treatment for the disease. Low-energy trauma was the cause of 92.9% of the fractures. Femoral neck fractures accounted for 42.5% of the fractures and trochanteric fractures, 57.5%. Five patients did not undergo operations; 39 underwent joint replacement; and 69 underwent osteosynthesis. The mean length of hospital stay was 13.5 days and the mean length of waiting time until surgery was 7 days. The intra-hospital mortality rate was 7.1%.

Conclusion

The patients attended at this institution presented an epidemiological profile similar to what is found in the Brazilian literature. Chronic kidney failure is a significant factor with regard to intra-hospital mortality. Preventive measures such as early diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and regular physical activity practices were not implemented.

Short- and long-term mortality in males and females with fragility hip fracture in Norway. A population-based study

Background

Hip fracture patients have, in several studies, been shown to have excessive mortality. There is, however, a lack of mortality data, in comparison to incidence data, from the last decade in particular.

Objective

To study short- and long-term mortality in a population-based cohort of hip fracture patients over the last decade and compare it to the background population.

Patients and methods

Fragility hip fracture patients in the two most southern counties in Norway who experienced fractures in 2004 and 2005 were studied. For each patient, three controls were randomly recruited from the background population matched for age, sex, and residency. Overall, age-, gender-, and group-specific mortality rates were calculated.

Results

A total of 942 (267 male and 675 female) patients with a fragility hip fracture were identified. In the hip fracture patients, overall mortality rate after 1 year was 21.3% (males 30.7% and females 19.1%, P < 0.005) and, after 5 years, 59.0% (males 70.0% and females 54.6%, P < 0.005). The corresponding figures for matched controls were 5.6% (males 5.9%, females 5.4%, P = 0.6) and 24.9% (males 25.9%, females 24.5%, P = 0.4), respectively. A statistically significant difference was seen in the log-rank statistical analysis between hip fracture patients and controls, both in males (P < 0.0005) and females (P < 0.0005), and for age groups 50–80 years (P < 0.0005) and 80 years and older (P < 0.0005).

Conclusion

Mortality in males and females with hip fractures is high not only in the first year after fracture, but remains higher than in the background population during 5 years of follow-up. The high mortality in hip fracture patients remains a challenge both in middle-aged and elderly individuals. Optimization of post-fracture treatment and care could reduce mortality of hip fracture in middle-aged and elderly individuals.