Osteoporosis assessment and treatment in older patients who have sustained a hip fracture.

Background And Aims: Currently fracture sufferers are not being assessed or treated for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis guidelines differ in their secondary prevention recommendations, with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) advocating bone densitometry in all fracture patients and anti-resorptive treatment only if evidence-based criteria are confirmed, but the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal recommends treatment for all older females without this bone densitometry confirmation. We aimed to determine the rate of referral for bone densitometry, the numbers achieving SIGN criteria for anti-resorptive therapy, and the rate of osteoporosis treatment in patients with hip fracture

Methods: A retrospective review of all patients older than 65 years who had sustained a hip fracture in Tayside between April 2003 and July 2005 was performed

Results: Only 8.