title: [Second hip fracture].
abstract: During the period from 1982-1990, a total of 1644 patients were admitted to our hospital with proximal femoral fractures. Trochanteric fractures were encountered in 54 per cent of the cases (887/1644) with a mean age of 68 years. Cervical fractures were encountered in 46 per cent of the cases (757/1644) with a mean age of 62 years. We found 28 patients who had been readmitted with a second hip fracture in this retrospective study, including twenty three males and five females. Two of these second hip fractures occurred on the same side as the initial fracture and twenty six occurred on the opposite side. The time interval between the first and the second hip fracture was shorter in males than that in females (1.7 years V.S. 2.7 years) and the interval also was shorter in those with a previous trochanteric fracture as compared to those with a previous cervical fracture (1.5 years V.S. 2.6 years). It appeared that a hip fracture reduced the risk of a subsequent hip fracture on the same side, and almost all second hip fractures were located on the opposite side of the patient (93 per cent). A possible reason for this "protective mechanism" is increased strength of the bone due to callus formation. A significant symmetry (trochanteric-trochanteric or cervical-cervical) was found between the first and the second hip fractures (69 per cent). We believe the symmetrical fracture pattern is due to senile osteoporosis, a kind of ongoing systemic weakening of the skeletal system among the elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ku
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors