[Vitamin D deficiency in femoral neck fractures (author's transl)]

In a therapeutic trial 20 patients with femoral neck fractures (FNF) were treated alternatively without supplemental vitamin D, calcium and phosphate or with 15 000 I.U. vitamin D2, 500 mg Ca++ and 560 mg of phosphate daily. Within two weeks, 25-OH-D in serum increased in patients with supplementary therapy. It is concluded that in the German Federal Republic, vitamin D deficiency is frequently found in the elderly during the winter months and that vitamin D deficiency could be important for the development of FNF.