Evaluation of Geriatric Fractures Admitted to the Emergency Department According to Years and Seasons

Abstract

With the rapidly increasing and diversifying elderly population of industrialized countries, the incidence of geriatric fractures is gradually increasing. The aim of this study is to evaluate the distribution of geriatric fractures according to the prevalence, age, sex, season and years. Material and Method:Analyzes of geriatric fractures in patients aged 65 and over who were admitted to our emergency department between January 2015 and December 2020 were performed according to the most common fracture locations (hip, distal forearm, proximal humerus and ankle). The distribution of these fractures by age, gender, seasonal characteristics and years was evaluated Results: A total of 370 cases (168 male, and 202 female patients) with an average age of 79.5± 9.02 years were included in the study. The most common fracture stypes in order of decreasing frequency were fractures of the hip (51.7%), distal forearm (25.1%), proximal humerus (12.4%) and ankle (10.8%). The incidence of distal forearm fractures was significantly higher in females than males (p=0.001), but any statistically significant difference was not found between genders regarding other fractures (p> 0.05). It was observed that the incidence of hip fractures was significantly higher in the people aged 86 years and over, while the other fractures were more frequently seen in the 65-75 age group. A seasonal feature was not observed in all fractures. The highest rate of hip fractures was seen in the year 2020. There was no difference in the distribution of other types of fractures over the years Conclusion: It has been concluded that the incidence of geriatric fractures increases relatively in conditions of social isolation and does not show seasonal characteristics in our region. We are of the opinion that a good management strategy should be determined characterized with both the isolation of these patients and their early treatment and discharge in disasters as pandemics, and the incidence of geriatric fractures that can be mortal with advancing age should be very well known.