01.10.2013 | editorial
Orthogeriatrics: hip fracture and its implications
Erschienen in: Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift | Ausgabe 19-20/2013
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As the aging population grows rapidly, the number of patients with geriatric fractures increases on an even higher rate. Adults over 85 years old have an approximately ten times higher risk to sustain a hip fracture than those aged 65–70 years [1]. The cause for most of these “fragility fractures” is a simple fall, a calamity to which older people are predisposed by cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, frailty, polypharmacy, and many other geriatric syndromes. Hip fracture is a typical low trauma fracture, occurring mostly in people with osteoporosis. It can be considered as a prototypical geriatric illness and it is a potentially devastating condition. The imminent treatment of proximal femoral fracture consists of major orthopedic surgery in most cases. In spite of the very effective and worldwide well-established surgical procedures (total or partial hip arthroplasty, osteosynthesis), hip fracture frequently leads to pain, immobilization, and a plethora of complications like thromboembolism, infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, delirium, and functional loss. Due to these circumstances, the treatment course after hip fracture is frequently prolonged, the recovery is uncertain and the outcome often leads to functional decline, institutionalization, and death. Therefore, extensive support including many disciplines is required. Comprehensive peri- and postoperative care is very important in this context, but understanding geriatric principles is also a conditio sine qua non for all who look after patients with hip fractures. …Anzeige