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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Olga D. Lorenzi-Peña, MS, Linnette Rodriguez-Figueroa, MS, and Josué Guzmán-Torres, PhD. Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, Graduate School of Public Health, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936-5067, 787-767-4146, olorenzi@rcm.upr.edu

Objective: To determine the association between osteoporosis and hospitalization sequels (hospital mortality, readmission due to fracture, other re-hospitalizations, and functionality changes) in patients ³ 65 years old with closed hip fracture hospitalized during 2002. Methods: Medical records were reviewed, and a telephone interview was performed. Characteristics of the patients were compared by age and gender using the chi-square test. A survival analysis was performed to determine differences in the length of hospital stay by gender and age. Due to the limited number of patients with osteoporosis diagnosis (n=3), we were unable to evaluate the association between osteoporosis and hospitalization sequels. Results: Thirty-seven patients with an average age of 77.5 ± 8.0 years were included in the study. The highest proportion of cases were age 75-84 (42.3%), and almost were female (72.9%). Most prevalent medical conditions were hypertension (54.1%), diabetes mellitus (27.0%), cardiovascular disease (18.9%), and Alzheimer′s disease (18.9%). At the time of the telephone interview, 35.2% of the patients had died. About 44.4% of patients had hospital re-admissions (only one with hip fracture), while 13.9% had emergency room visits. Most (81.1%) reported difficulties in ³ 1 activities of daily living. The average length of hospital stay was 6.0 ± 4.1 days. Males and those between 65 and 74 years old had a higher probability of longer hospital stay, but this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Further studies that can determine the impact of hip fractures in patients with osteoporosis are needed to develop prevention and rehabilitation strategies.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the socio-demographic characterists of a population with hip fracture.
• Identify the prevalence of hospitalization sequels among older adults.
• Recognize the importance of further research that can determine the impact of hip fractures in older patients with osteoporosis.

Keywords: Hip Fractures, Elderly

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No