Effect of zoledronic acid on fracture healing in osteoporotic patients with intertrochanteric fractures

AIMS: To assess the effect of zoledronic acid (ZOL) on fracture healing in osteoporotic patients with intertrochanteric fracture based on radiological evaluation and to study the correlations between severity of osteoporosis, age, gender, and time taken to fracture union. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: An open label study was conducted on 43 patients at a tertiary care center. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The osteoporosis status of all the included patients was documented using a double-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan. A single dose of injection ZOL 5 mg was administered intravenously to all the patients after fixation during their hospital stay. Follow-up of the patients was done at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery until union was seen radiologically. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Data were entered into Microsoft Office Excel version 2007, and interpretation and analysis of obtained data were done using summary statistics. Pearson correlation between age, gender, bone mineral density (BMD), and time taken to fracture union was done using the IBM SPSS Version 22.0 (IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). RESULTS: The average age of the patients included in the study was 71.27 ± 11.48 and the average BMD was -4.58±1.42. All the fractures united by the 6(th) month of follow-up, which was similar to the union rate in comparison with the literature. The correlations between the gender, BMD, age, and time to union were calculated, and all the r values obtained showed very low correlation and the P values in all the variables were not significant. CONCLUSION: The bisphosphonate therapy did not adversely affect radiologically determined fracture union, and no correlations between severity of osteoporosis, age, gender, and time taken to fracture union were found to be significant.