Osteoporosis management in patients presenting to the emergency department with fragility fractures: A retrospective observational study.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the rate of anti-osteoporotic treatment (AOT) within one year in patients presenting to the emergency department with fragility fractures and to investigate the effects of physiatrist visit, secondary cause of osteoporosis, and previous fracture history on the rate of AOT.

Methods: This study included patients aged 50 years and older who presented to the emergency department between January 1, 2019, and June 1, 2023, with fragility fractures. Demographic characteristics of the patients, a history of fragility fractures, causes of secondary osteoporosis, and clinical features of AOT within one year were recorded using the hospital information system. The effects of physiatrist visit, secondary cause of osteoporosis and previous fracture history on the rate of AOT were examined by chi-square analysis.

Results: The study included a total of 357 patients, with a mean age of 73.5 + 10.1 (range: 51-100) years. The rate of patients receiving AOT was 8.4%. It was observed that 63.3% of the patients receiving AOT had a physiatrist visit, and 70% had secondary osteoporosis. Physiatrist visit and the presence of secondary osteoporosis cause affected the AOT rate statistically significantly (p = .000, p = .003, respectively), while the previous fracture history did not affect the treatment rate (p = .147).

Conclusions: Patients presenting to the emergency department with fragility fractures had a low rate of receiving AOT within one year. Physiatrist visits and finding a secondary cause of osteoporosis increase the detection rate of fragility fractures.