[Analysis of a population of patients with hip fracture in Argentina]

In older adults, hip fracture (HF) is one of the main clinical consequences of osteoporosis. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics, biochemical parameters of bone metabolism, and densitometric findings in patients with fragilityrelated HF evaluated in a specialized center.

We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of patients over 18 years old diagnosed with fragility-related HF and evaluated at the Metabolic Research Institute in Buenos Aires between 2012 and 2022. Patients with fractures secondary to neoplasms, traffic accidents, or atypical femoral fractures were excluded.

Eighty patients were included, of whom 77 (96.3%) were women. The median age was 73 years (IQR 66-80). The most frequent fracture site was the femoral neck (74/80; 92.5%). Thirty-one patients (38.8%) had a history of previous fractures, and 20/31 (64.5%) had more than one. Bone densitometry was performed in 62/80 patients (77.5%) at trabecular sites, showing osteoporosis in 26/62 (41.9%) and osteopenia in 23/62 (37.1%), and in 54/80 (67.5%) at cortical sites, showing osteoporosis in 27/54 (50%) and osteopenia in 26/54 (48.1%). Forty-four patients (55%) had previously received osteoporosis treatment, and 17/80 (21.3%) were on active treatment at the time of the fracture. The median duration of prior bisphosphonate use was 44.7 months (IQR 13.5-60).

Most patients with HF were older women. Among those who had undergone prior bone densitometry, half had osteoporosis, and approximately one-third were receiving active pharmacological treatment at the time of the fracture.