Abstract

In aged trauma patients the basic prerequisite is early mobilization and full weight-bearing, as immobilization can trigger various complications such as pressure ulcers, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and others. Mortality of elderly patients increases significantly in fracture patients with partial weight-bearing compared to populations with total weight-bearing. Besides the limited physical strength in these patients, partial-weight bearing is however frequently used for the aftercare of hip fracture patients. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate mobility of aged hip fracture patients with regards to weight-bearing and postoperative mobility.

There has been extensive research into neck of femur fractures in the elderly. Fragility non-hip femoral fractures share many of the same challenges [1]. Surgical management is complex, patients are frail and mortality rates have been reported as high as 38% [2]. Despite this, relatively little data is available evaluating the level of MDT care provided to non-hip femoral fractures. This audit aimed to evaluate the standard of MDT care provided for patients with non-hip femoral fractures according to the NHFD key performance indicators. The following fractures were included in the dataset: distal femoral, femoral shaft and peri-prosthetic femoral. Patients under 65 were excluded. Data was retrospectively collected using post-operative and medical documentation. Performance was assessed according to five key performance indicators:. Did orthogeriatrics review the patient within 72-hours?. Was surgery performed within 36-hours?. Was the patient weight bearing post-operatively?. Was a confusion assessment completed?. Was the patient discharged home?. 38 patients met the inclusion criteria. 84% of patients were seen by orthogeriatrics within 72 hours of admission. 32% of patients were operated on within 36-hours of admission, with time to theatre exceeding 36-hours in 92% of peri-prosthetic fractures. 37% of patients were not advised to full weight bear post operatively. 84% of patients received a confusion assessment whilst 61% of patients were discharged to their prior place of living. Our results suggest that non-hip femoral fractures do not receive the same standard of MDT care as neck of femur fractures. Greater prioritisation of resources should be given to this patient subset so that care is equivalent to hip-fracture patients. Time to surgery is a particular area for improvement, particularly in peri-prosthetic fractures, a trend that is mirrored nationally. Greater emphasis should be placed on encouraging full-weight bearing post-operatively to prevent post-surgical complications

Osteoporosis is a disease when bone mass and tissue is lost, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and increase susceptibility to develop fracture. The osteoporosis prevalence increases markedly with age, from 2% at 50 years to more than 25% at 80 years. 1. in women. The vast majority of distal radius fractures (DRFs) can be considered fragility fractures. The DRF is usually the first medical presentation of these fractures. With an aging population, all fracture clinics should have embedded screening for bone health and falls risk. DRF is the commonest type of fracture in perimenopausal women and is associated with an increased risk of later non-wrist fracture of up to one in five in the subsequent decade. 2. . According to the national guidelines in managing the fragility fractures of distal radius with regards the bone health review, we, as orthopedic surgeons, are responsible to detect the risky patients, refer them to the responsible team to perform the required investigations and offer the treatment. We reviewed our local database (E-trauma) all cases of fracture distal radius retrospectively during the period from 01/08/2019 to 29/09/2019. We included total of 45 patients who have been managed conservatively and followed up in fracture clinic. Our inclusion criteria was: women aged 65 years and over, men aged 75 years and over with risk factors, patients who are more than 50 years old and sustained low energy trauma whatever the sex is or any patient who has major risk factor (current or frequent recent use of oral or systemic glucocorticoids, untreated premature menopause or previous fragility fracture). We found that 96% of patients were 50 years old or more and 84% of the patients were females. 71% of patients were not referred to Osteoporosis clinic and 11% were already under the orthogeriatric care and 18% only were referred. Out of the 8 referred patients, 3 were referred on 1st appointment, 1 on the 3rd appointment, 1 on discharge from fracture clinic to GP again and 3 were without clear documentation of the time of referral. We concluded that we as trust are not compliant to the national guidelines with regards the osteoporosis review for the DRF as one of the first common presentations of fragility fractures. We also found that the reason for that is that there is no definitive clear pathway for the referral in our local guidelines. We recommended that the Osteoporosis clinic referral form needs to be available in the fracture clinic in an accessible place and needs to be filled by the doctor reviewing the patient in the fracture clinic in the 1st appointment. A liaison nurse also needs to ensure these forms have been filled and sent to the orthogeriatric team. Alternatively, we added a portal on our online database (e-trauma), therefore the patient who fulfils the criteria for bone health review should be referred to the orthogeriatric team to review

Background. Polypharmacy of elderly trauma patients entails further difficulties in addition to the fracture treatment. Impaired renal function, altered metabolism and drugs that are potentially delirious or inhibit ossification, are only a few examples which must be carefully considered for the medication in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to investigate, if medication errors could be prevented by orthogeriatric comanagement compared to conventional trauma treatment. Material and methods. In a superregional traumacenter based on two locations in Munich, all patients ≥ 70 years with proximal femur fracture were consecutively recorded in a period of 3 months. After the end of the treatment the medical records of each patient were analyzed. At the hospital location 1 the treatment was carried out without orthogeriatric comanagement, at the hospital location 2 with this concept (DGU-certified orthogeriatric center). In addition to the basic medication all newly added drugs were recorded as well as changes in the medication plan and also wether treatment was carried out by the geriatrician or the trauma surgeon. Based on the START / STOPP criteria for the medication of geriatric patients, we defined “no-go” drugs with the geriatrician of the orthogeriatric center which should be avoided in the orthogeriatric patient (including benzodiazepines, gyrase inhibitors, NSAID like Ibuprofen with impaired GFR). The statistical analysis was done with the chi-square-test (IBM SPSS Statistics 24). Results and conclusion. A total of 46 patients were included, 37 of them female and 9 male with an average age of 84,5 years (SD±6.8). At the location without a geriatrician (18 patients), a prescription of one or more “no-go” drugs was found in 9 patients, whereas in location 2 (28 patients) only in 3 patients (p=0.003). Besides that, at the location with the geriatrician, a change in the medication was made for 17 patients during their stay in hospital. This shows that with the fixed integration of the geriatrician into the trauma surgical team, errors in the medication of the patients could be significantly more frequent avoided or faster detected and corrected. Although this should not limit the responsibility of the rest of the team, there is no doubt about the importance of the interdisciplinary treatment of elderly trauma patients

Introduction. Aged trauma patients with proximal femur fractures are prone to various complications. They may be associated with their comorbidities which also need to be adressed. These complications limit the patient”s postoperative health status and subsequently their activity and independency. As an attempt to improve the postoperative management of aged hip fracture patients a better understanding of the postoperative condition in these patients is necessary. Therefore, this meta-analysis is intended to provide an overview of postoperative complications in the elderly hip fracture patients and to improve the understanding of an adequate postoperative management. Material and method. Medline was used to screen for studies reporting on the complication rates of hip fracture patients > 65 years. The search criteria were: “proximal femur fracture, elderly, complication”. In addition to surgical studies, internal medicine and geriatric studies were also included. Randomized studies, retrospective studies as well as observation studies were included. Furthermore, reoperation rates as well as treatment-related complications were recorded. The 1-year mortality was calculated as outcome parameter. Results. Overall 54 studies were enrolled, published between 2011 and 2016. The mean age of the 9812 patients was 81 years (65–99 years). Follow-up was at least one year. The reoperation rate after osteosynthesis of pertrochanteric femur fractures was 8.7%. The reoperation rate was dependent on the type of fracture and the surgical method. Pneumonia (9,5%) and urinary tract infections (27%) were the most common postoperative infections. With 23%, delirium was one of the most common medical complications. The 1-year mortality rate was 18.7%. Conclusion. Orthogeriatric patients represent a complex patient population. Addressing the special needs of elderly patients reduces postoperative complications. Establishing comanagement or orthogeriatric wards can also be helpful to manage comorbidities and postoperative complications. It is important to not only choose the proper surgical procedure but to monitor orthogeriatric patients closely during their hospitalization