Effect of pre-fracture mobility on the early post-operative functional outcome in elderly patients with a hip fracture

Abstract

Background: Hip fractures are among the most commoncauses of disability and hospitalisation in the elderly. There are no studies inSouth Africa that determine the effect of pre-fracture functional mobility onearly post-operative functional outcome in elderly patients with a hip fracture.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of pre-fracture functionalmobility on early post-operative functional outcome in elderly patients with ahip fracture.Methodology: A prospective pre-test post-test observational study designwas done. Assessments were conducted pre-operatively, at discharge and sixweeks post discharge at two public hospitals in Johannesburg, South Africa. Thepre-fracture functional mobility of the participants was determined using theNew Mobility Score (NMS) pre-operatively. At discharge and at six weeks post discharge the participants post-operative functionallevel was assessed using the Elderly Mobility Scale (EMS) and the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS).Results: More than two thirds of participants were independently mobile prior to the fracture. Pre-fracture functional mobilityis a strong determinant of early post operative functional outcome in elderly patients with a hip fracture(β = 1.39, p = 0.0001).Conclusion: Independent pre-fracture mobility predicts better early post-operative functional outcomes in the elderly.