title: The short term outcome of elderly patients with hip fractures.
abstract: A prospective outcome study was performed of 100 hip fracture patients at an urban medical center in the United States. After hospitalization 19% were discharged to a rehabilitation facility and 59% were discharged home. At a mean follow-up of 8 months, 81% of patients lived at home, compared to 89% who lived at home prior to the fracture. At follow-up 71% of the patients were able to walk outside with one cane or no aids at all, and 81% were able to perform basic activities of daily living. Half of all patients did not require any home assistance at follow-up. Ten patients had died at follow-up. The goal of operatively treating the patient with a hip fracture is fixation of the fracture with a return to the patient's pre-fracture functional ability. This study illustrates that patients with hip fractures can be effectively treated and discharged home or to a short-term rehabilitation facility with restoration of their pre-fracture functional status.
authors.affiliation: The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, NY, USA.
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Tolo
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bostrom
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Simic
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lyden
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cornell
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Thorngren
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome