1989 Volume 26 Issue 2 Pages 174-178
Fracture of the neck of the femur (FNF) is a common disorder in the elderly. A total of 618 cases consisting of 117 males and 501 females, whose age was 65 years or more, were enrolled in a prospective study. A total of 45 cases among them revealed pulmonary complications. These were divided into the following three groups: Group 1 (4.7%) who had respiratory disease(s) or symptoms prior to the fracture; Group 2 (1.9%), diagnosed as having pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). In Group 3 (0.6%), PTE was a possible diagnosis but it was not distinguished from pneumonia in precise. In the patients of group 2 and 3, respectively, the following respiratory symptoms were observed: dyspnea (31.3%), productive cough (25%), syncope (12.6%), chest pain (6.3%), tachycardia (46.7%), and tachypnea (50%). An abnormal chest roentgenogram was found 56.4% in both group 2 and 3. Seven patients in group 2 showed remarkable reduction of PaO2 on admission, however these all recovered within 7 days without any thrombolytic treatment. The prevalence of PTE caused by FNF in the elderly was close to that in younger cases, but the clinical symptoms were less in the former.
