An 85-year-old woman who lived alone was found lying on her kitchen floor by her daughter, who had gone to check on her. The woman could not rise, even with help; when she tried, she experienced extreme pain in her right hip. Her daughter immediately dialed 911, and paramedics took her mother to the hospital.
The elderly woman's hip was x-rayed in the emergency room, and physicians determined that she had a fracture of the right femoral neck. A femoral neck fracture is commonly, but incorrectly, called a broken hip. Two days later, she received a partial hip replacement in which the head and neck of the femur were replaced, but not the acetabulum.
In the case of falls involving femoral neck fracture, it is not always clear whether the fall caused the femoral neck to fracture or a fracture of the femoral neck caused the fall.
Femoral neck fractures are among the most common injuries resulting in morbidity (disease) and mortality (death) in older adults. Four percent of women over age 85 experience femoral neck fractures each year. Despite treatment with anticoagulants and antibiotics, about 5% of patients with femoral neck fractures develop deep vein thrombosis (blood clot), and about 5% develop wound infections; either condition can be life-threatening. Hospital mortality is 1-7% among patients with femoral neck fractures, and nearly 20% of patients die within 3 months of the fracture. Only about 25% of victims ever fully recover from the injury.
Research and discuss 2 of the following:
Q1. The femoral neck is commonly injured and elderly women commonly affected.
Q2. The physiologic changes that occur with prolonged immobility.
Q3. The treatment and management of hip fracture.
Q4. Hip joint replacement consideration and post-operative management.