Predicting the Anatomical Location of Neck of Femur Fractures in Osteoporotic Geriatric Indian Population

INTRODUCTION: Neck of femur fractures are quite common fractures in the elderly. Though a lot is spoken about the various modes of management of these fractures across different age groups, hardly any literary support mentioning their distribution, location and pattern can be found. In this study, we aim to find whether the Singh index, as a marker of osteoporosis on digital radiographs, can predict the location of neck of femur fractures in the elderly population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We accessed 556 fractured hip radiographs in our institution over the past 5 years (20152020) and correlated with the Singh index, as a marker of degree of osteoporosis, on pre-operative pelvis digital radiographs. Mid coronal CT cuts were also corroborated with the radiographic findings. A control group was set up and 361 radiographs were evaluated in the study group. RESULTS: A total of 124 transcervical fractures (73%) were in Singh index 4, while 76 subcapital fractures (70%) were in Singh index 3. A total of 166 fractures (66%) were found in transcervical region in the age group of 60 to 80 years, while 80 fractures (74%) were in the subcapital region in patients above 80 years. CONCLUSION: We concluded that transcervical fractures were more common in patients with Singh index 4 (p<0.001) and subcapital more common in patients with Singh index 3(p<0.001). There was also a shift in location of the fractures from the transcervical region to the subcapital region with age above 80 years (p<0.001).