[Conservative therapy of closed, dislocated fractures of the olecranon in geriatric patients]

Twenty-three patients (mean age: 81.2 years) were followed up for an average of 4.6 years after conservative treatment of olecranon fractures. Long-term subjective, objective and roentgenographic results were compared with the data for 19 operatively treated patients (mean age 45.8 years). Objectively the results were significantly poorer after conservative treatment than after operative treatment: We found 42.2% excellent and good results in the conservative group, whereas the findings were excellent or good in 84.2% of results in the operative group. The differences were found mainly in the function of the elbow joint and in the radiographic findings. In the subjective results, however, we found no statistically significant difference between the long-term results of the two groups. The results were felt to be excellent or good by 87% of the patients who had undergone conservative treatment and by 84.2% of those treated operatively.