Incidence of Atypical Femoral Fracture and Its Mortality in a Single Center in Singapore

Bisphosphonates (BP) are the most commonly prescribed effective form of osteoporosis treatment with adverse effects associated with prolonged use such as atypical femoral fractures (AFF). Asians have an elevated risk of AFF at 5 to 6 times those of whites and Hispanics. In this study, we characterize factors associated with AFF and its mortality in a single center in Singapore. We conducted a cohort study of subjects older than 50 years admitted to Changi General Hospital (CGH), Singapore, with fragility subtrochanteric femoral fractures from 2009 to 2015. Using the ASBMR 2014 criteria, fractures are classified into atypical and typical subtrochanteric femoral fractures. CGH uses a nationalized electronic health record that allows review of information on patients' demographics, clinical history and previous investigations. Mortality was assessed as of December 31, 2019. Between 2009 and 2015, there were 3097 hip fractures, of which 393 were subtrochanteric femoral fractures and 69 were classified as AFF by ASBMR 2014 criteria. A total of 52.2% of AFF occurred with BP exposure of median duration 56.5 (28 to 66) months. Multivariate regression showed that BP exposure was associated with the highest risk of AFF (odds ratio [OR] = 6.65 [2.35–18.9]). AFF patients had higher 5‐year survival (0.85 versus 0.62, p = 0.001) compared with typical subtrochanteric fracture patients. However, after adjusting for variables, the type of subtrochanteric femoral fractures were no longer significantly associated with progression to death, whereas older age, higher mean Charlson comorbidity score, and Malay ethnicity were the strongest predictors of death. AFF constitutes a small proportion of hip and femoral fractures with prolonged BP use being the highest risk factor for its development. There is no evidence of increased mortality or morbidity in patients with AFF compared with the typical subtrochanteric fracture. The fear of AFF should not impede treatment of typical osteoporotic fractures in this population. © 2021 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.