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. 2016 Jul 7:17:265.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-016-1111-y.

Quality of life following hip fractures: results from the Norwegian hip fracture register

Jan-Erik Gjertsen  1   2 , Valborg Baste  3 , Jonas M Fevang  3 , Ove Furnes  3   4 , Lars Birger Engesæter  3   4
Affiliations

Quality of life following hip fractures: results from the Norwegian hip fracture register

Jan-Erik Gjertsen et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Patient-reported health-related quality of life is an important outcome measure when assessing the quality of hip fracture surgery. The frequently used EQ-5D index score has unfortunately important limitations. One alternative can be to assess the distribution of each of the five dimensions of the patients' descriptive health profile. The objective of this paper was to investigate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after hip fractures.

Methods: Data from hip fracture operations from 2005 through 2012 were obtained from The Norwegian Hip Fracture Register. Patient reported HRQoL, (EQ-5D-3L) was collected from patients preoperatively and at four and twelve months postoperatively n = 10325. At each follow-up the distribution of the EQ-5D-3L and mean pain VAS was calculated.

Results: Generally, a higher proportion of patients reported problems in all 5 dimensions of the EQ-5D-3L at all follow-ups compared to preoperative. Also a high proportion of patients with no preoperative problems reported problems after surgery; At 4 and 12 months follow-ups 71 % and 58 % of the patients reported walking problems, and 65 % and 59 % of the patients reported pain respectively. Patients with femoral neck fractures and the youngest patients (age < 70 years) reported least problems both preoperatively and at all follow-ups.

Conclusions: A hip fracture has a dramatic impact on the patients' HRQoL, and the deterioration in HRQoL sustained also one year after the fracture. Separate use of the descriptive profile of the EQ-5D is informative when assessing quality of life after hip fracture surgery.

Keywords: Femoral neck fractures; Health related quality of life; Hip fractures; National results; Orthopaedic surgery.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of patients included in the study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Changes in EQ5D from preoperative to 4 months postoperatively. Changes in severity level in each of the five dimensions of the EQ-5D for different fracture types. Green indicates improvement/less problems, yellow indicates no change, and red indicates worsening/more problems
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mean pain from the operated hip at different follow-ups according to fracture type. Visual analogue scale, (VAS) 0-100 where 0 indicating no pain and 100 indicating unbearable pain. P-values were assessed using the ANOVA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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