Elderly with femoral neck fracture: analysis of falls and functional changes

• Author(s): Barreira, Elisabete Maria Gomes ; Novo, André ; Preto, Leonel ; Mendes, Eugénia
• Date: 2015
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/12479
• Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
• Subject(s): Elderly; Femoral neck fracture; Functional capacity
• Document Type: Conference object
• Language: English
• Contributor(s): Biblioteca Digital do IPB

Description

According to the Portuguese Ministry of Health there are in Portugal more than 9,500 femoral neck fractures each year, which reached hospital expenses of around 52 million euros. The same source estimates the mortality from 20% to 30% over a year after fracture; referring to severe disability it reaches a prevalence of 40% in the same period. Objective: To know the effect on the functional capacity of the elderly falling victim, which results in femoral neck fracture. Method: This research is a descriptive, longitudinal, prospective correlational study with a quantitative methodology. The sample consisted of 35 elderly patients at the first assessment and thirty in the second, all admitted to the trauma service of the Bragança Hospital Unit, Portugal. Data collection took place between February and June 2014 and the second evaluation was conducted between August and December, 2014. It was intended to assess the degree of recovery of functional ability after fracture of the proximal end of the femur, the fear of falling and characterize the falls. The instrument used for calculating the degree of functional recovery was the Katz index. Results: Of the sample studied 33.3% had femoral neck fracture and the remaining 66.6% had trochanteric, subtrochanteric and intertrochanteric fractures. Surgical treatment was instituted in 93.3%. The values of the Katz index decreased from 15.53 to 12.93 points. The degree of recovery of functional independence is significantly higher in patients who underwent osteosynthesis with hip prosthesis, whether it was partial or total. Conclusion: The variables that most influenced the functional recovery were the type of fracture and the type of osteosynthesis. There was a decline in functional capacity and in parallel an increase in the fear of falling.