Fragility fractures are a persistent cause of illness in the elderly, with alarming incidence and escalating expense. Although falls are well recognized as the most common cause of fractures, the specific stratification of fracture causes presenting to the emergency department has yet to be detailed in the literature. Therefore, for a study, researchers aimed to categorize the principal products related to fractures in the elderly and describe the anatomic site of the fracture and the environment of injury.
From January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2019, they searched the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database for all fractures in individuals over 65. For the top 20 fracture causes, they looked at demographic information, patient disposition, anatomic fracture site, and injury context. Descriptive statistics were used to examine trends, proportions, and distributions.
A total of 901,418 emergency department visits were examined. Fractures were discovered in 216,657 (24%) of these. The top 20 causes of fractures accounted for 173,557 (19%) of all fractures. The population’s average age was 80.1 years (SD 8.7). The majority of the patients were female (127,753 [74%]). The most prevalent product related with the cause of fractures was flooring (58,347 [33.6%]), followed by stairs/steps (29,804 [17.2%]) and bed/bed frames (19,004 [10.9%]). Lower limb fractures were more prevalent (97,195 [56%]) than upper extremity fractures (63,899 [37%]). The lower trunk (pelvis, femoral neck, and lower spine) was the most often reported anatomic site of fractures (64,132 [37.0%]). The majority of fractures happened at home (113,158 [65.2%]) or in a public place (31,162 [18.0%]).
The majority of goods linked to fractures in senior individuals were connected to flooring, stairs, or bedding. The study provided a thorough overview of the common products related to fractures in mature individuals and assists in the discussion of fracture risk reduction strategies with patients, communities, and healthcare systems.
Reference:journals.lww.com/jaaos/Abstract/2022/07010/The_Accident_Environment_Resulting_in_Fragility.11.aspx
