SV Vaidya, D Dholakia, S Yadav
Department of Orthopaedics, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Parel, Mumbai—400012, India

OBJECTIVE. The first study to predict peritrochanteric fractures by the use of T scores amongst the Indian population was performed. This study aimed to assess the risk of fracture around the hip in peri-menopausal and postmenopausal women, and in men over the age of 35 years using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and to analyse whether the result, i.e. the T score, can predict an impending hip fracture.

METHODS. T scores of the unaffected hip in 30 patients with peritrochanteric fractures were determined, and matched pair analysis was done using a control group without fracture. All patients were from a single centre and were evaluated using the same scanner.

RESULTS. The mean T score of the 30 patients in the fracture group was -3.34 (range, -1.2 to -5.1; standard deviation [SD], 1.032), compared with the mean T score of the 30 control subjects which was -2.41 (range, 0.6 to -5.0; SD, 1.378). T scores of patients from the fracture group were significantly lower than those in the control group.

CONCLUSION. We infer that T scores are the best predictors for fracture risk. A score of -2.5 or lower effectively defines patients at risk and is useful for predicting fracture risk in the Indian population. In patients with osteoporosis, whether a fall precedes the fracture or the fracture precedes a fall may not be an issue of debate, but can serve as a basis for prevention of additional fractures by instituting appropriate measures in patients at risk.

Key words: femur neck, intertrochanteric; osteoporosis; risk; T score