title: Hip fracture surgery: improving the quality of the evidence base.
abstract: Hip fracture is a common injury associated with high mortality, long-term disability and huge socio-economic burden. Yet there has been relatively little research into best treatment, and evidence that has been generated has often been criticised for its poor quality. Here, we discuss the advances made towards overcoming these criticisms and the future directions for hip fracture research: how co-ordinating existing national infrastructures and use of now established clinical research networks will likely go some way towards overcoming the practical and financial challenges of conducting large trials. We highlight the importance of large collaborative pragmatic trials to inform decision/policy makers and the progress made towards reaching a consensus on a core outcome set to facilitate data pooling for evidence synthesis and meta-analysis. These advances and future directions are a priority in order to establish the high-quality evidence base required for this important group of patients.
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Clifford Bridge Rd, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.
authors.forename: X L
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford, Headley Way, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000592:standards; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Hip fracture; randomised controlled trials