Early compared with late operative treatment of patients with a hip fracture is associated with an improved ability to return to independent living, a reduced risk for the development of pressure ulcers, and a shortened hospital stay.

Background: Hip fracture patients are reported to have an increased mortality rate compared to the general population. In order to be able to reduce the morbidity and mortality after a hip fracture, our efforts to identify the patients at risk already upon admission to the hospital need to be increased. For such a risk assessment, robust, validated, and reproducible criteria are mandatory. Objective: To determine preoperative factors associated with mortality and to evaluate the combined use of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) to identify patients with an increased mortality rate and to create a predictive model to assess the mortality risk after hip fracture surgery. Methods: A total of 1,944 consecutive patients aged 66 years or older admitted for a hip fracture were included in a prospective cohort study with a 24-month follow-up. The patients were assessed with regard to gender, age, type of hip fracture, smoking habits, comorbidities, general physical health according to the ASA classification, and cognitive function according to the SPMSQ. A higher ASA score indicates an increasingly severe systemic disease and a lower SPMSQ score indicates an increasingly severe cognitive dysfunction. We used Cox proportional hazard models and classification trees to identify the factors associated with mortality. The predictive model was created based on factors that were significantly associated with death and all readily accessible upon admission. Results: The mortality rate during the acute hospitalization period was 4%, at 4 months 16%, and at 24 months 38%. The most prominent factors associated with mortality were high ASA scores, low SPMSQ scores, high age and male gender. The SPMSQ score provided additional information about the survival time, compared to when the ASA score was used alone. Conclusion: The combined use of the ASA classification for assessing physical health and the SPMSQ for assessing cognitive function effectively identified hip fracture patients with an increased mortality rate. We present a predictive model including age, gender, ASA, and SPMSQ that can be used to assess the mortality risk after hip fracture surgery.

The present results provide evidence of specific ageing- and gender-related differences in regulation of muscle contraction at the cellular level. It is suggested that these cellular changes have a significant impact on muscle function and the ageing-related motor handicap.

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men had a higher risk for loss of walking ability and death only in patients with cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive function was the most important factor for returning to own home and regain pre-fracture function.

AimKnee arthroplasties are an increasingly common treatment for osteoarthritis (OA) and the main indication is pain. Previous research states, however, that 15–20% of the operated patients are dissatisfied and 20–30% have persistent pain after surgery. This study is aimed at describing patients’ experiences of living with knee OA when scheduled for surgery and further their expectations for future life after surgery.MethodsWe interviewed 12 patients with knee OA scheduled for arthroplasty, using semi-structured qualitative interviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis.FindingsThree categories were formulated with an overriding theme: “It's not just a knee, but a whole life.” The three categories were “Change from their earlier lives,” “Coping with knee problems,” and “Ultimate decision to undergo surgery.” The main finding was that knee OA affects the whole body and self, ultimately affecting the patients’ lives on many levels. Further findings were that knee OA was considered to be the central focus in the participants’ lives, which limited their level of activity, their ability to function as desired, their quality of life, and their mental well-being. Although surgery was considered to be the only solution, the expectations regarding the outcome differed.ConclusionsThe participants were forced to change how they previously had lived their lives resulting in a feeling of loss. Thus, the experienced loss and expectations for future life must be put into the context of the individual's own personality and be taken into account when treating individuals with knee OA. The experience of living with knee OA largely varies between individuals. This mandates that patients’ assessment should be considered on individual basis with regard to each patient.

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