Fractures in the Aged, with Special Reference to the Femur

A survey was made of the records on 492 patients who had died in a Home for the Aged during the 1964–1971 period. It was found that fractures occurred most frequently in patients between the ages of 75 and 85, especially among the women. The commonest fractures were located in the proximal end of the femur, the ribs and the vertebrae. Fractures often were multiple at these bone sites, but usually not in combination with each other in the same patient. Fracture of the femur was three times as likely to occur in women as in men. Multiple fractures of the femur (at different times) occurred in 18 women, but not in the men; in 17 women both femurs were involved. There was an increase in pulmonary deaths among the fracture group. Of the 107 patients who had femur fractures, 32.4 per cent died within six months after repair of the fracture. This figure represents the immediate and delayed postoperative mortality. Forty patients were classified as an “accident‐prone” group because their charts showed more than 20 incidents of trauma. However, in this group, there were only 5 femur fractures versus an “expected” (random) incidence of 6–7 fractures. Thus there was no basis for claiming that fractures of the femur were closely correlated with trauma.