Background: Hip fracture is a common diagnosis in the older population, with often serious consequences. Drug treatment may be of significance for both falls and fractures.
Objective: To investigate drug treatment in older hip fracture patients, focusing on use of fall-risk-increasing and fracture-preventing drugs before and after the fracture.
Methods: This was an observational study conducted in Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. The participants were 100 consecutive hip fracture patients aged > or =65 years with a median age of 86 (range 66-97) years. Seventy-three patients were female, and 87 patients had at least one strong risk factor for a fracture. Four patients died during the hospital stay, and a further 18 died within 6 months after discharge. Treatment with fall-risk-increasing and fracture-preventing drugs at admission to hospital, at discharge and 6 months after the hip fracture was measured.
Results: The numbers of patients treated with fall-risk-increasing drugs were 93 (93%), 96 (100%) and 73 (94%) at admission, discharge and 6-month follow-up, respectively. The median (range) number of such drugs was 3 (0-9), 4 (1-10) and 3 (0-10), respectively. A total of 17 (17%), 32 (33%) and 29 (37%) patients were treated with fracture-preventing drugs, predominantly calcium plus vitamin D, at admission, discharge and 6-month follow-up, respectively. Five patients (5%) used bisphosphonates or selective estrogen receptor modulators at admission. No additional patients had these drugs prescribed during the hospital stay. At 6-month follow-up, four more patients were treated with bisphosphonates.
Conclusions: Treatment with fall-risk-increasing drugs was extensive among older hip fracture patients both before and after the fracture. The proportion of patients with fracture-preventing drugs was low at admission and increased slightly during the follow-up period. Hence, drug treatment in older hip fracture patients can be improved regarding both fall-risk-increasing drugs and fracture-preventing drugs.