title: Treating ununited fractures with electricity: nursing implications.
abstract: Not only are the elderly more susceptible to fractures because of a decrease in total bone content from osteoporosis, but the regeneration of injured bone may be prolonged as well. When a long bone fracture occurs in the elderly person, weightlessness and immobility result in further acceleration of bone loss. Because the success of pulsing electromagnetic field treatments depends on adherence to the treatment protocol, patient education is a key in nursing care. Although all fractures are a serious setback for the elderly person, those that do not heal properly require special considerations and the mobilization of many resources if the patient is to remain out of an institution.
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Sneed
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: VanBree
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D005599:Fractures, Ununited / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D014945:Wound Healing