HIP FRACTURE IN CENTENARIANS: RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF AN ORTHOGERIATRIC UNIT REVEALS THE LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT RESEARCH

Life expectancy of Italian people is among the highest in the world, at 80 years for males and 85 years for females. Estimates from the National Institute of Statistics show that people aged 65 years and older represent more than 21% of the Italian population. Among them, centenarians represent the age group with the highest growing rate. Hip fracutre incidence increases with advancin age, and currentlu represents one of the major causes of hospitalization in the eldely. Many studies regarding hip fracture in the elderly have been published, but research focusing on centenarians is still very limited despite their growing trend. This manuscript reviews the activity of the Orthogeriatric Unit at San Gerardo University Hospital (Northern Italy) from its establishment in 2007 until the present, and enlightens the limitations of the research in this area reviewing the literature currently available. Over a 7-year period, we admitted a small population of 10 centenarian female patients, all of underwent surgery. Their in-hospital (1 out of 10) and 1-year mortality rates (8 out of 10) are consisten with the existing literature.Centenariasn pose an increasing challenge to physicians and surgeons. Rates of recovery of the pre-fracture condition are undoubtedly lower than those in younger geriatric patients, but surgery and early rehabilitation should not be denied solely due to the extreme age of these subjects. However, the research in this area presents several limitation up to now. The available studies are sparse, describe small populations, and are generally a single-center retrospective review of the local hospital admissions registry. Moreover, the objectives and outcome measurements vary considerably between studies, making a statistical comparison unfeasible. In this scenario, the implementation and analysis of large-scale databases would allow appropriate research among centenarians, inluding cost-effectiveness of specific surgical treatment.