This prospective observational data collection study assessed the cost and quality of life related to hip, vertebral and wrist fracture 1 year after the fracture, based on a patient sample consisting of 635 male and female patients surviving a year after fracture. Data regarding resource use and quality of life related to fractures was collected by questionnaires at baseline, 4 months and 12 months. Information was collected by the use of patients' records, register sources and by asking the patient. Quality of life was estimated with the EQ-5D questionnaire. Costs were estimated from a societal perspective, including direct and indirect costs. The mean fracture-related cost the year after a hip, vertebral and wrist fracture were estimated, in euros (), at 14,221, 12,544 and 2,147, respectively [converted from Swedish krona (SEK) at an exchange rate of 9.1268 SEK/]. The mean reduction in quality of life was estimated at 0.17, 0.26 and 0.06 for hip, vertebral and wrist fracture, respectively. Based on the results, the yearly burden of osteoporosis in Sweden could be estimated at 0.5 billion (SEK 4.6 billion). The patient sample for vertebral fracture was fairly small and included a high proportion of fractures leading to hospitalization, but they indicate a higher cost and loss of quality of life related to vertebral fracture than previously perceived.

only patients who had a single knee operated on have been followed up. The minimum period of observation was 22 years.Among the approximately 8500 patients who had a total meniscectomy between January 1953 and June 1973, 313 aged 18 years of age or less had the procedure in one knee (0.04%). Abdon et al 1 followed up 100 of these patients during 1982 and 1983; they were considered to be a representative group since the only difference between them and those failing to attend for review was the length of time since surgery. There were 89 patients who had a single meniscectomy and 11 who had both menisci removed from the same knee. 6 The complete data and radiographs of both knees from that review were available to us. It was not possible to trace five of the 100 patients, leaving 95 for our study. Ten women and 22 men could not attend for assessment (Fig. 1); all except the five patients who could not be traced, were investigated by analysis of the hospital notes and those of the general practitioner. Half of the 32 patients not available for clinical review were contacted by telephone to confirm the accuracy of these data. We examined 63 patients (48 men and 15 women) and documented their symptoms and levels of activity.

No abstract