Dementia and mental ability are major prognostic indicators for six-month mortality following subcapital hip fractures, highlighting the need for mental ability testing in the management of these patients.
We report a prospective study of the influence of various factors on the six-month mortality of 531 patients with subcapital hip fractures. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses on the 403 patients treated surgically. The most significant predictors of the six-month mortality were dementia, postoperative chest infection, malignant neoplasia, old age and deep-wound infection, in that order. A simple test of mental ability was the most significant prognostic indicator and this test should be included in future studies of the management of hip fractures in the elderly.
Wood et al. (1992) studied this question.
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