OSTEOPOROSIS IN PATIENTS WITH FEMORAL NECK FRACTURES

Abstract

1. It is now more than three years since a group of ninety-one patients with transcervical fracture of the neck of the femur were examined for osteoporosis at the time of injury using a histological or a radiographic technique, or a combination of both methods. 2. After patients with basal fractures were excluded, ninety fractures in eighty-eight patients were available for review and sixty-six (74 per cent) were adequately followed up. 3. In this series the fate of the fracture did not appear to be influenced by the presence or absence of osteoporosis, or by the degree of osteoporosis. 4. The incidence of osteoporosis increased with advancing age, but this increased incidence did not appear to be responsible for the greater proportion of failures after the age of sixty-five. 5. In this series of patients examination for osteoporosis was made by methods which were believed to be the best available at the time. The possibility that these are not absolutely reliable cannot be ruled out.