The Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute Center for Health Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Ann Transl Med. 2015 Sep;3(15):216. doi: 10.3978/j.issn.2305-5839.2015.07.06.
A third of elderly adults fall every year, many leading to hip fractures with a 24% mortality rate just within the first year. As a growing number of the US population approaches old age, these hip fractures are expected to cost the US over 25 billion annually. In the near future, physicians will need to not only improve the treatment for a larger patient population but also reduce the medical costs associated. The authors in this paper sought to determine whether specialized geriatric care positively impacted patient outcome compared to standard orthopaedic care for hip fractures. The study found that geriatric care significantly increased patient mobility within 4 months after hip fracture and will likely reduce overall medical costs. Similar studies have shown promising results as well. Moving forward, geriatric fracture programs need more prospective randomized trials to determine the effectiveness of these programs to increase patient quality while also reducing overall medical costs. This study in correlation with others further demonstrates the importance and need of specialized geriatric programs in the US.
每年有三分之一的老年人会摔倒，其中许多人会导致髋部骨折，一年内的死亡率高达 24%。随着美国越来越多的人口步入老年，预计这些髋部骨折每年将给美国带来超过 250 亿美元的医疗费用。在不久的将来，医生不仅需要改善更多患者的治疗效果，还需要降低相关医疗成本。本文作者试图确定与标准骨科护理相比，老年病护理是否对髋部骨折患者的预后有积极影响。研究发现，老年病护理可显著提高患者髋部骨折后 4 个月内的活动能力，并且可能降低整体医疗费用。类似的研究也取得了有前景的结果。展望未来，老年骨折项目需要更多的前瞻性随机试验来确定这些项目的有效性，以提高患者的生活质量，同时降低整体医疗成本。这项研究与其他研究进一步证明了美国专门的老年病项目的重要性和必要性。
