Epidemiological comparison of adult femoral intertrochanteric fractures between the east and west areas in China from 2010 through 2011

Abstract

Objective To compare the epidemiological characteristics of adult femoral intertrochanteric fractures between the east and west areas in China from 2010 to 2011. Methods The data of adult femoral intertrochanteric fractures treated between January 2010 and December 2011 at 35 east hospitals and 28 west ones were analyzed retrospectively. The patients' gender, age, type of AO and Evans classification were documented. Data from the 35 east hospitals were classified as group A while data from the 28 west ones as group B. Comparisons were made between the 2 groups to find out the general epidemiological characteristics. Results A total of 9,233 adults femoral intertrochanteric fractures were collected. The total male/female ratio was 1.04∶1. The fractures predominate age range was 71 to 80 years (28.71%). According to AO classification, there were 2,464 cases (26.69%) of type 31-A1, 5,251 ones (56.87%) of type 31-A2 and 1,518 ones (16.44%) of type 31-A3. According to Evans classification, there were 4,169 cases (45.15%) of stable fractures and 5,064 ones (54.85%) of unstable fractures. The male/ female ratio was 0.99∶1 in group A of 6, 856 patients and 1.19∶1 in group B of 2, 377 patients, showing a significant difference between two groups (χ2=14.582, P 0.05). Conclusions The peak age of adult femoral intertrochanteric fractures was from 71 to 80 years, the high-risk type was 31-A2 and unstable fractures were more common. There were more male patients than female ones. The proportion of female, median age and proportion of stable fractures in the east area were higher than those in the west area, while the proportion of 31-A3 type was lower. Key words: Hip fractures; Epidemiology; Sex distribution; Age distribution