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The management of patients with hip fractures who are taking Clopidogrel

Welkee Sim1, Peter N Gonski

  • 1Sutherland Hospital, Kingsway, Caringbah, New South Wales, Australia.

Australasian Journal on Ageing
|December 3, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Patients taking Clopidogrel with proximal hip fractures experienced similar outcomes to those not on the medication. Surgery can be safely performed as soon as possible for these patients.

Area of Science:

  • Orthopedic Surgery
  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Acute proximal hip fractures are common in elderly patients.
  • Clopidogrel is an antiplatelet medication often prescribed to patients with cardiovascular conditions.
  • Concerns exist regarding the safety of Clopidogrel in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery due to bleeding risks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients with acute proximal hip fractures who were taking Clopidogrel.
  • To compare outcomes between patients on Clopidogrel and those not on the medication.
  • To determine if Clopidogrel affects postoperative complications or mortality in hip fracture patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective study of 135 patients with proximal hip fractures.
  • Data collected from hospital medical records, including demographics and clinical outcomes.
  • Comparison of 21 patients on Clopidogrel versus 114 patients not on Clopidogrel.

Main Results:

  • Baseline characteristics were similar between the Clopidogrel and control groups.
  • No significant differences in postoperative hemoglobin, wound hematoma, length of stay, or mortality.
  • Surgical delay was observed in the Clopidogrel group (3.5 days vs. 0.9 days).

Conclusions:

  • Clopidogrel use in patients with proximal hip fractures is not associated with adverse outcomes.
  • Surgery for hip fractures can be safely expedited in patients taking Clopidogrel.
  • This finding supports current clinical practice guidelines for managing these patients.
Abstract

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