title: Do elderly patients with hip pain following trauma require hospital admission?
abstract: A series of 123 elderly patients (mean age 77.8 years) were identified who presented to the accident and emergency department following trauma, who complained of hip pain but had a 'normal' hip radiograph. These patients were followed up by a scrutiny of hospital admissions, 'phone contact with their general practitioner or nursing home or postal questionnaire. At the time of review, which ranged from 3 to 12 months, 13 patients had died. Of the remaining patients, five had sustained a fracture but only three had sustained a hip fracture. Of patients reviewed, 20 per cent had been admitted to hospital with other problems. Hip pain following trauma may be a better predictor of morbidity and mortality than of an occult hip fracture.
authors.affiliation: Department of Accident and Emergency, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: O'Dwyer
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Finlay
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology*; D025981:Hip Injuries; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D011379:Prognosis