Epidemiology of fractures of the upper end of the femur in Gran Canarias (1989-1993)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to study the incidence of fractures of the proximal osteoporotic femur in Gran Canarias Island, Spain, in persons over 49 from 1 January 1989 to 31 December 1993. Information was collected from public and private hospitals. The following variables were studied: sex, age, season, fracture location, fracture type, fracture side, treatment, complications, destination after release, intrahospital mortality and duration of the hospital stay. The total number of fractures was 1,175 cases, 848 women and 327 men. The adjusted incidence increased from 127.8 in 1989 to 170.1 fractures/100,000 inhabitants over 49 in 1993. The mean age of patients was 78.2 ± 9.9 years. The incidence was higher in fall and winter. Most of the patients has been living at home. Fractures were more often extracapsular than intracapsular. Patients with extracapsular fractures were older than the patients with intracapsular fractures. Eighty-eight percent of the patients were treated surgically. The mean hospital stay was 15.8±14 days. Only hall of the patients returned to their homes. The hospital mortality was 5.8 %.