AMBULATORY ABILITY AFTER HIP FRACTURE - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY IN GERIATRIC-PATIENTS

Three hundred thirty-six community-dwelling, previously ambulatory, ge riatric patients with hip fracture were observed prospectively to dete rmine ambulatory ability at a minimum followup of 1 year. One hundred thirty-seven (41%) patients maintained their prefracture ambulatory ab ility at a minimum follow-up of 1 gear; 131(40%) patients remained amb ulatory but became more dependent on assistive devices; 39 (12%) previ ous community ambulators became household ambulators, and 26 (8%) pati ents became nonfunctional ambulators. Analysis was performed to determ ine which pre- and postinjury factors were predictive of failure to re cover ambulatory capacity 1 year after fracture. Potential predictor v ariables analyzed included age, gender, number of comorbid conditions, prefracture ambulatory ability, prefracture living situation, fractur e type, American Society of Anesthesiologists rating of operative risk , type of surgery, and number of postoperative complications. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified significant contributions of age, prefracture ambulatory ability, American Society of Anesthesiolog ists rating of operative risk, and fracture type to ambulatory recover y.