Osteoporosis-related femoral fractures in Saudi Arabia are significant causes of morbidity besides incurring economic burden. We believe that a National Fracture Registry needs to be established, and osteoporosis awareness programs should be instituted in every part of Saudi Arabia so that these patients can be diagnosed early and treated appropriately to reduce both the number of fractures and the economic burden of the fractures.

ObjectiveTo determine the functional morbidity and mortality after fragility hip fracture and compare the mortality with three other common diseases.MethodsData were collected from patients admitted to King Fahd Hospital of the University, AlKhobar from January 2010 to December 2014. Demographic data included the preoperative American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score as assessed by the anesthetist and the type of surgery. Personal and telephone interviews were performed, and data were entered into a database and analyzed.ResultsWe identified 203 patients with fragility proximal femoral fractures, and the data of 189 patients (109 male, 80 female; average age, 66.90 ± 13.43 years) were available for analysis. The overall mortality rate was 26.98% (51 patients). The mortality rate was significantly higher among patients with an ASA score of 4 (36.36%) than 1 (20.45%). With respect to morbidity, only 48.23% of patients were able to return to their pre-fracture status; 32.35% of those who required assisted walking and 83.4% of those who required a wheelchair became bedridden.ConclusionsOur data demonstrate that patients with fragility hip fractures have high morbidity and a mortality rate approaching 30%. Age and the ASA score significantly influence this high mortality rate.

Objectives:Very little is known about blood utilization in orthopedic and trauma surgery and there is no definite policy in this regard. Our objective is to perform an audit on our practice of blood utilization in the orthopedic department.Methods:We have retrospectively analyzed the data of patients who were admitted between January 2011 and December 2012 to the orthopedic male, female and pediatric wards for which blood products were requested.Results:Three hundred and eight patients were admitted for surgery during the study period. The average age was 35.12 ± 20.4 years and postsurgery they stayed in the hospital for 25.60 ± 10.5 days. Blood products were requested for 223 trauma surgeries. In elective orthopedic procedures, only 42.78% of the blood requested was utilized while in trauma patients it was 55.25%.Conclusions:A substantial amount of blood and its product was used in trauma and elective orthopedic surgeries. There was a major discrepancy between the blood requested and utilized and secondly in the majority single unit transfusion was utilized, which is not within the fundamentals of blood transfusion.

Background and Objective:Antipsychotic medications are known to cause low bone mass. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis secondary to patients taking antipsychotic medications.Patients and Methods:This prospective study included 175 patients taking antipsychotic medications and attending the psychiatric clinics at the King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Demographic data, antipsychotic medications, type, and duration of administration of medication were collected. All patients had bone mass measurement using dual energy X-ray (DXA) absorptiometry. Patients were divided into 5-year groups, from ≤35 to ≥51 years. The data were entered in the database and analyzed using SPSS Inc version 20.Results:The average age of patients was 40.75 ± 7.16 years (range: 26–56 years), there were 120 (82.8%) males and 25 (17.2%) females. Our results indicate that the average duration of anti-psychotic medication use was 8.45 ± 5.4 years. DXA of the hip revealed that 25 (14.2%) patients were osteoporotic and 104 (59.42%) were osteopenic, while on the basis of the T-score of the lumbar spine, 77 (44%) patients were osteoporotic and 80 (45.7%) were osteopenic. On the basis of the spinal bone mineral density (BMD), 89.7% had low bone mass.Conclusion:Anti-psychotic medications have a strong influence on the reduction of bone mass even in younger populations. The BMD of patients who are prescribed anti-psychotic medication need to be monitored for low bone mass and provided with the appropriate treatment.