Association of Psychiatric Illness or Psychotropic Medication Usage with Calcaneus Fracture

Background There is a noticeable lack of studies examining the connection between psychiatric illness and orthopaedic injury. The goal of this study is to determine if a relationship exists between calcaneus fracture and psychiatric illness or use of psychotropic medication.  Methods A retrospective review was undertaken of calcaneus fracture patients at our institution from January 2011 through January 2014, and those with a diagnosis of psychiatric illness or history of psychotropic medication usage were identified. Medication records were analyzed along with medical histories taken during the initial encounter. If the patient was admitted, hospital notes for the hospitalization were reviewed to determine if any information was missed during the initial encounter. The date of injury, age, sex, insurance status at the time of initial encounter, psychiatric diagnoses or psychotropic medication use, and mechanism of injury were recorded. Any specific psychiatric diagnoses were collected from the patient charts, as was the presence of any specific prescribed psychotropic medications. After completion of the data collection, an attending psychiatrist verified the recorded data to ensure an accurate psychiatric assessment. Results A total of 85 calcaneus fractures met the inclusion criteria. In the population, there were 71 males and 14 females. The average age of the patients was 41.74 years, with 24% of patients having a diagnosis of psychiatric illness at the time of injury. The relative risk of a psychiatric illness in males compared to females was 0.31 (p = 0.009) while the relative risk of using psychotropic medication in males compared to females was 0.17 (p = 0.0007). Males were less likely to undergo operative intervention than females (p = 0.0001). The average age of a patient who either had a diagnosis or took medication for a psychiatric illness was 48.4 years, as compared to 39.7 years in those who did not (p = 0.014). Conclusion Males were less likely to have a psychiatric illness or be currently treated with psychotropic medications. A dedicated review of psychiatric history and prior medication may be useful during preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative treatment planning.  Level of Clinical Evidence: 4.