ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: With an aging population increasing, the incidence of senile femoral intertrochanteric fractures is on a rise because of osteoporosis. Due to the aged usually accompanied with systematic diseases, conservative treatment will lead to high mortality after long-term bedridden. Thereafter, early surgery is recommended. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence of femoral intertrochanteric fractures and its epidemiological features. METHODS: The digital radiography data and basic information of 179 patients (over 50 years of age) with femoral intertrochanteric fractures admitted in the General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from 2013 to 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. The data including age, gender, injury causes, fracture types, complications, treatment procedures, and hospitalization time were recorded and compared. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: All the 179 cases of femoral intertrochanteric fractures were enrolled, including 66 (36.9%) males and 113 (63.1%) females. The mean age was (76.98±9.73) years, and the number of patients aged 80-90 years was the most (n=71, 39.7%). With the age increasing, the incidence of fall-induced hip fractures was increased. By AO classification, type 31-A1 was the most common fracture type (46.4%), and type 31-A3 was the least common type (22.9%). By Evans classification, type I was the most common type (50.3%), and type V was the least common type (2.2%). There were 93.3% patients underwent surgical treatment (167/179), and 6.7% received conservative treatment (12/179). In the age group of 51-60 years, the male patients were more than females; in the age group 61-70 years, the male patients were more than females except in 2013; in the age groups of 71-80, and 81-90 years, the female patients were more than males; in the age group of over 90 years, there was no significant difference between female and male patients. These results manifest that the majority of hip fracture patients are the elderly, and slipping and osteoporosis are the leading causes. In spite of accumulating operative risks with aging, surgical treatment remains the predominant management strategy. Besides, the incidence of femoral intertrochanteric fractures shows a trend of increase yearly, with the highest incidence in the age group of 71-90 years, especially in females.