Abstract
A prior osteoporotic femoral neck fracture (FNF) doubles the risk of a second, contralateral hip fracture. Pharmacological prevention of osteoporotic fractures is cost-effective but medication compliance and persistence rates are suboptimal. The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a device developed for the surgical prevention of an additional contralateral FNF in elderly osteoporotic patients. Only patients with a T score ≤ -2.5 were enrolled and randomized either to receive (Group A) or not receive (Group B) surgical prevention. Sixty-seven patients were enrolled. The mean follow-up was 16 months (range 1 to 22). To date, no contralateral FNF has been reported in either group. In Group A, no device-related complications were recorded. Twelve patients reported one or more falls and in four cases a non-femoral fragility fracture occurred. The main problem with pharmacological prevention is therapy adherence and the extensive period needed for only a slight improvement in bone strength. Surgical prevention is a potential solution for avoiding the occurrence of a second contralateral FNF. Nevertheless, a longer follow-up and a larger cohort of patients is necessary in order to verify the true effectiveness of the surgical prevention in elderly osteoporotic patients.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 51-54 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Clinical Cases in Mineral and Bone Metabolism |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2011 |
Keywords
- Femoral neck fractures
- Osteoporosis
- Surgical prevention
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Internal Medicine