title: Hip fracture in the immobile patient.
abstract: Immobility has been used as an indication for conservative treatment of patients with fractures of the hip, although there is little in the literature to support this view. We conducted a prospective review of 3515 patients with hip fractures of whom 152 (4.3%) were immobile prior to the fracture. Nine patients were treated conservatively, the rest by operation. The mean age was 83 years (42 to 99); the mean length of hospital stay was 17.8 days; 19 patients (12.5%) died whilst still in hospital and 120 (79.0%) went back to their original residence. There were 38 post-operative complications. At one year after injury, 73 patients were still alive. Of the survivors, 54 (74.0%) had none or minimal pain in the hip and 58 (79.5%) had the same residential status as before the fracture. Immobility in patients with hip fracture is uncommon and is not a valid reason for withholding surgical treatment.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000075202:Contraindications; D005260:Female; D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000379:methods* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007103:Immobilization; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D016019:Survival Analysis