External application effect of traditional Chinese medicine on the postoperative nursing of the elderly femoral intertrochanteric fracture patients

Abstract

Objective To investigate the external application effect of traditional Chinese medicine on the postoperative nursing of the elderly femoral intertrochanteric fracture patients. Methods Fifty-four elderly femoral intertrochanteric fracture patients who were treated with bone cement type artificial femoral head replacement in the department of orthopedic surgery, Central Hospital of Zaozhuang Mining Group in Shandong province from November 2013 to November 2015 were selected using the convenience sampling method. All the patients were divided into the control group and the observation group according to the random number table (n=27 per group). The patients in the control group received the postoperative conventional nursing, while the patients in the observation group received the external application nursing of traditional Chinese medicine besides the conventional nursing. The visual analogue scale (VAS) and the hip joint activity were used to evaluate the postoperative pain and the hip joint recovery. Results Two weeks after the surgery the VAS score was (3.2±0.2) in the observation group, which was significantly different from the score in the control group (4.9±0.8) (t=-6.151, P<0.05). The hip joint recovery effect in the observation group was excellent in 1 case, good in 19 cases and poor in 7 cases, which was significantly different from that in the control group (excellent in 0 case, good in 12 cases, poor in 15 cases) (Z=4.472, P<0.05). Conclusions After the artificial femoral head replacement applied in the elderly femoral intertrochanteric fracture patients, rehabilitation nursing of traditional Chinese medicine external application combined with the conventional nursing reduces patients′ limb pain and increases patients′ postoperative hip joint activity, which has a certain applicability. Key words: Elderly patients; Femoral intertrochanteric fracture; External application of traditional Chinese medicine; Postoperative rehabilitation; Bone cement type artificial femoral head replacement