Increased Mortality Amongst Patients Sustaining Neck of Femur Fractures as In-Patients in a Trauma Centre

Neck of Femur (NOF) fracture is a common injury with high mortality that all orthopaedic departments must contend with [1]. The aim of this study was to report incidence and mortality of NOF fractures occurring while patients were being admitted to hospital for other conditions.

A retrospective review was performed of all NOF fracture admissions between 1^st of Jan 2010 to 31^st of Dec 2012 at a University Hospital trauma centre. Fractures were divided according to the location where the fracture occurred, either in the community (acute NOF) or in-hospital (in-hospital NOF).

In-hospital mortality, 30-day, 90-day and 1 year mortality were recorded. There were 1086 patients in the acute NOF fracture group (93.9%) and 70 patients in the in-hospital group (6.1%) over three years. The odds of inpatient death was 2.25 times higher for inpatient NOFs (p=0.012). 86% of all in-hospital NOF fractures occurred on medical and rehabilitation wards. NOF fractures result in increased mortality and morbidity.

All patients in hospital should be assessed to identify those at high risk of falls and implemented measures should be taken to reduce this.