Clinical analysis of femur shaft insufficiency fractures.

Background: To characterize the recently issued femur shaft insufficiency fracture in terms of a patient's own epidemiological status.

Methods: Fourteen patients were treated for insufficiency fracture from July 2002 to June 2008, excluding cases including the risk factors of insufficiency fracture. All patients were female, and their mean age was 75.6 years (range, 65 to 89 years). The mean follow-up period was 50.6 months (range, 14 to 86 months).

Results: The mean body weight of the Koreans in the same age group was 58.1 ± 9.7 kg, and the mean height was 155.5 ± 8.8 cm. The mean body weight of our insufficiency fracture patients was 45.7 kg and it was statistically significantly lower than that of the Koreans in the same age group (p < 0.001). The mean height was 147.3 cm and it was significantly shorter than the mean height of the Koreans in the same age group (p = 0.002). In regard to menopausal time, the mean menopausal time of the Koreans was 48.0 ± 4.2 years, it was 44 years in our study, as menopause occurred statistically significantly earlier (p = 0.017). The patients with insufficiency fracture showed statistically lower weight, shorter stature and an earlier menopausal period than that of the general population.

Conclusions: In early menopausal, underweight, and short patients prescribed osteoporosis medication for an extended period of time, if predromal symptom is present, it is necessary to suspect insufficiency fracture of the femur.