title: Spontaneous hip fractures, 44/872 in a prospective study.
abstract: We assessed the relationship between the onset of pain and the fall in a consecutive series of 1,212 patients admitted to a single hospital with an acute hip fracture. 915 patients could be evaluated. The overall incidence of spontaneous fractures was 7%, but this fell to 5% if pathological fractures were excluded. The incidence of fractures without a fall was 6%. 2% of patients gave a history of pain for up to 8 weeks before the fall and only 2 of the patients gave a history of acute pain in the hip, causing them to fall. Physicians should be aware that a spontaneous hip fracture can occur without any history of trauma and such fractures are likely to be pathological or intracapsular.
authors.affiliation: Peterborough District Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Parker
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Twemlow
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005598:Fractures, Spontaneous / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies