Impact of a Secondary Prevention Program for Fragility Fractures at the Orthogeriatric Clinical Care Center at the Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá, 2014-2020

Abstract

Introduction: The presence of a fragility fracture increases the risk of new fractures. The timely and prompt initiation of treatment for osteoporosis can reduce the incidence of new fractures, for which adherence to management is a determining factor. The main objective of the study was to characterize the secondary prevention program for fragility hip fractures in patients older than 65 years, determine adherence to treatment and its effect on the appearance of new fractures in the established follow-up period. Materials and Methods: A descriptive retrospective cohort study was carried out. Patients older than 65 years with a fragility hip fracture treated by an Orthogeriatric Clinical Care Center between May 2014 and April 2020 who completed a one-year follow-up were included. Results: A final sample of 290 patients was obtained (226 women and 64 men) with an average age of 82.27 years. It was found that 84.5% of patients received indications to start osteoporotic management prior to hospital discharge and only 35.2% started the treatment in the first 6 postoperative months. 16.6% (n = 48) of patients presented a new fracture, with no significant difference between those who started their osteoporosis treatment in a timely manner. Out of the 48 patients, 5 patients (10.4%) met therapeutic failure criteria. Discussion: Most patients (84.5%) received indications for starting osteoporotic treatment before hospital discharge, nevertheless 35.2% started it during the first 6 postoperative months. 16.6% of patients presented a new fracture during follow up, of which only five met therapeutic failure criteria. Conclusions: No significant differences were found between the presence of new fractures and early initiation of osteoporotic management. However, literature shows that prompt and timely osteoporotic treatment reduces the incidence of new fractures, thus measures must be implemented to strengthen the adherence and surveillance of patients to the indicated treatment.