Reference no: EM133923873

Question

"A Broken Hip". An 85-year-old woman who lived alone was found lying on her kitchen floor by her daughter, who had gone to check on her. The woman could not rise, even with help; when she tried, she experienced extreme pain in her right hip. Her daughter immediately dialed 911, and paramedics took her mother to the hospital.

The elderly woman's hip was x-rayed in the emergency room, and physicians determined that she had a fracture of the right femoral neck. A femoral neck fracture is commonly, but incorrectly, called a broken hip. Two days later, she received a partial hip replacement in which the head and the neck of the femur were replaced, but not the acetabulum.

Approximately 1.6 million femoral neck fractures occur worldwide and are expected to increase as many as 6.3 million by 2050. This type of fracture increases a person's risk of death during the first several months by 8-fold. The risk of suffering a femoral neck fracture doubles each decade of life after the age of 50. Females tend to fracture their femoral neck at a higher rate than males. Females have a one-in-three lifetime chance whereas white males have a one-in-12 lifetime chance of fracturing their femoral neck.

The incidence of fracture of the femoral neck increases as patients age, with a greater number of patients being females. The overall risk of injury is 86% in males and females 65 years and older. Discuss the reasons why the femoral neck is so commonly injured and why elderly females are most affected as compared to males. Explain in detail your answers.