Course: Closing the Osteoporosis Care Gap: A Teachable Moment
CME Credits: 1.00
Released: 2021-10-18
A 91-year-old woman presented to the hospital with right-sided hip pain after losing balance and falling from standing height. On examination, her right leg was shortened and externally rotated. There was pain in the right groin and hip with movement. A radiogram of her right hip and pelvis revealed a peritrochanteric fracture. She was taken urgently to the operating room, where she underwent an open reduction and internal fixation.
The patient presented to her primary care physician 2 years prior with lower back pain immediately after a fall from standing height. A radiogram of the lumbar spine at that time demonstrated a compression fracture of L5. She was diagnosed with an acute atraumatic vertebral fracture and given a prescription for analgesia. While the patient had an uncomplicated recovery from surgery, she and her daughter wondered what could have been done to prevent this hip fracture.
Educational Objective
To describe the rationale for appropriate treatment of osteoporosis after a patient's initial fragility fracture and the practice gap in doing so.
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