Atypical Femoral Fracture in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Atypical femoral fractures are characterized by a subtrochanteric or diaphyseal location. Recent studies have suggested that long-term treatment with bisphosphonates might be associated with the occurrence of atypical femoral fractures. The present report describes a case involving a 60-year-old woman with left buttock pain that was unassociated with trauma. Her hip pain was initially considered to be a symptom of her underlying rheumatoid arthritis, but a plain radiography, bone scintigraphy, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an insufficiency fracture in the lateral shaft of the left proximal femur. She had been treated with a bisphosphonate for 4.5 years because of a previous vertebral fracture. Her chronic, long-term rheumatoid arthritis and history of bisphosphonate administration were considered to be associated with the development of her atypical femoral fracture.