The epidemiology of adult fractures is changing rapidly. The longevity of the population continues to extend with increasing incidence of fragility fractures. The aim of this study was to map the epidemiology of fractures in patients 90 years and older. A retrospective review of all orthopaedic trauma patients over the age of 89 years attending Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in 2000 was performed. All inpatients and outpatients were included. These patients were identified using a prospectively complied database held by the senior author. Patient notes were used to confirm place of residence, mobility, co-morbidity, management, length of admission and place of discharge. 236 fractures (4% of all fractures) were identified. There were 209 (89%) female patients. All were secondary to low energy trauma. More than 50% of the patients were admitted from home and mobilised independently or with a stick. 124 (53%) patients had nil or one co-morbidity, the commonest being dementia and hypertension. Of the 133 neck of femur (NOF) fractures 11 (8%) died as inpatients, and of the 66 patients residing independently in their own home only 5 (8%) returned with the other 61 needing step-up care. The average length of stay in hospital for NOF fractures was 13 days. The majority of patients are female and reside at home, being independently mobile and have limited co-morbidity. The length of stay is relatively long and few patients’ return directly home following a NOF fracture. This, with the ever-growing super-elderly population, will have substantial financial implications in the future

There are limited recent epidemiological data pertaining to the patterns of skeletal injury around the knee joint in adult patients. Data on fractures of the distal femur, proximal tibia and patella have been individually reported. We aimed to describe the collective epidemiological characteristics of all fractures around the knee.

We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected fracture database from an institution serving 545,000 adults. The demographic and injury details for all patients suffering fractures of the distal femur, proximal tibia and patella were analysed. Fractures were classified according to the AO (distal femur, patella) and Schatzker (proximal tibia) systems.

A total of 173 fractures occurred in 170 patients (60% women), representing 6.7% of all lower limb fractures. There were 36 distal femoral fractures, 82 proximal tibial fractures (metaphyseal, plateau or bony avulsions) and 55 patella fractures.

Each fracture type displayed distinct epidemiological characteristics. Injuries of the distal femur occurred in older women. A proportion of tibial plateau fractures occurred in young men following high-energy trauma, but a greater number were encountered by older men and women following low-energy injury. The majority of fractures around the knee were caused by a simple fall from standing, followed by road traffic accidents, and falls from height.

When compared with historical data from our unit, the incidence of fractures around the knee has increased. The median age of affected patients has also risen, and this is particularly true for fractures of the distal femur and tibial plateau.

The epidemiological characteristics of fractures around the knee joint in our adult population are presented. Low-energy trauma in the elderly is likely to constitute an increasing proportion of knee injuries in the future, and this has implications for the provision of trauma services in our region.

Aims

Understanding of open fracture management is skewed due to reliance on small-number lower limb, specialist unit reports and large, unfocused registry data collections. To address this, we carried out the Open Fracture Patient Evaluation Nationwide (OPEN) study, and report the demographic details and the initial steps of care for patients admitted with open fractures in the UK.

Aims

The primary aim of this study was to determine the rates of return to work (RTW) and sport (RTS) following a humeral shaft fracture. The secondary aim was to identify factors independently associated with failure to RTW or RTS.

Introduction. Acetabular fractures are a challenging problem. It has been published that outcome is dependent upon the type of fracture, the reduction of the fracture and concomitant injuries. The end-points of poor outcome include avascular necrosis of the femoral head, osteoarthritis. However, we lack definitive statistics and so counselling patients on prognosis could be improved. In order to achieve this, more outcome studies from tertiary referral centres are required. We present the first long term follow up from a large tertiary referral centre in Ireland. Methods. We identified all patients who were ten years following open reduction and internal fixation of an acetbular fracture in our centre. We invited all of these patients to attend the hospital for clinical and radiographic follow-up. As part of this, three scoring systems were completed for each patient; the Short-form 36 health survey (SF36), the Merle d'Aubigné score and the Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA). Results. The data represents one year's activity at a new tertiary referral unit. We identified a total of 44 patients who were ten years following ORIF of acetabular fractures in our unit. 21 patients (48%) replied to written invitation and attended the hospital for clinical and radiographic follow-up. A further 7 patients were contacted by telephone and interviewed to gauge their rehabilitation. 3 patients had passed away. The remaining 13 patients were not contactable. Of those who attended in person for follow-up; 18 were male and 3 were female. The mean age at follow-up was 40.5 years (Range 27-60). In terms of fracture pattern epidemiology, 43% of patients sustained posterior column and wall fractures, 29% posterior wall, 14% posterior column alone, 9.5% transverse with posterior wall and 9.5% bicolumnar. 2 patients in the follow-up group had total hip replacements. Of the remaining patients the overall mean SF36 score was 78.8% (SD 16.4). The mean SMFA was 14.1% (SD 5). The mean Merle d'Aubigné score was 14.9 (SD 3.2) with 63% graded as good or excellent. Comparison of outcome between sub-groups according to fracture classification showed no significant difference. Traumatic sciatic nerve injury was sustained by four patients in the follow-up group and all patients continued to complain of ongoing weakness. Of the patients who were contacted via telephone, 2 had total hip replacements. The remaining 5 reported no significant problems with their hips and cited this as the reason for not attending follow-up. Conclusion. Overall the outcome of the patients was more favourable than expected. This was supported by the results of the clinical scoring systems. In some patients this also appeared to be despite poor radiographic findings. Our observations suggest that concomitant injuries, especially sciatic nerve injury have a profound negative influence on the patients' ability to fully rehabilitate. These data provide a valuable tool for the trauma surgeon in providing the patient with an educated prognosis

Introduction. Acetabular fractures are a challenging problem. It has been published that outcome is dependent upon the type of fracture, the reduction of the fracture and concomitant injuries. The end-points of poor outcome include avascular necrosis of the femoral head, osteoarthritis. However, we lack definitive statistics and so counselling patients on prognosis could be improved. In order to achieve this, more outcome studies from tertiary referral centres are required. We present the first long term follow up from a large tertiary referral Centre in Ireland. Methods. We identified all patients who were ten years following open reduction and internal fixation of an acetbular fracture in our centre. We invited all of these patients to attend the hospital for clinical and radiographic follow-up. As part of this, three scoring systems were completed for each patient; the Short-form 36 health survey (SF36), the Merle d'Aubigné score and the Short Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment (SMFA). Results. The data represents one years activity at a new tertiary referral unit. We idenfied a total of 44 patients who were ten years following ORIF of acetabular fractures in our unit. 21 patients (48%) replied to written invitation and attended the hospital for clinical and radiographic follow-up. A further 7 patients were contacted by telephone and interviewed to guage their rehabilitation. 3 patients had passed away. The remaining 13 patients were not contactable. Of those who attended in person for follow-up; 18 were male and 3 were female. The mean age at follow-up was 40.5 years (Range 27-60). In terms of fracture pattern epidemiology, 43% of patients sustained posterior column and wall fractures, 29% posterior wall, 14% posterior column alone, 9.5% transverse with posterior wall and 9.5% bicolumnar. 2 patients in the follow-up group had total hip replacements. Of the remaining patients the overall mean SF36 score was 78.8% (SD 16.4). The mean SMFA was 14.1% (SD 5). The mean Merle d'Aubigné score was 14.9 (SD 3.2) with 63% graded as good or excellent. Comparison of outcome between sub-groups according to fracture clasification showed no significant difference. Traumatic sciatic nerve injury was sustained by four patients in the follow-up group and all patients continued to complain of ongoing weakness. Of the patients who were contacted via telephone, 2 had total hip replacements. The remaining 5 reported no significant problems with their hips and cited this as the reason for not attending follow-up. Conclusion. Overall the outcome of the patients was more favourable than expected. This was supported by the results of the clinical scoring systems. In some patients this also appeared to be despite poor radiographic findings. Our observations suggest that concomitant injuries, especially sciatic nerve injury have a profound negative influence on the patients' ability to fully rehabilitate. These data provide a valuable tool for the trauma surgeon in providing the patient with an educated prognosis