Prediction of ambulation prognosis in the elderly after hip fracture

We investigated the factors influencing ambulation prognosis after hip fracture in the elderly patient and examined whether it is possible to predict the ambulation status upon hospital discharge at the time of admission. Two hundred and five patients aged 60 or older with a hip fracture who were ambulant before injury were studied. The patients were divided into two groups according to their ability to walk at the time of discharge from hospital: the ambulatory group and the non-ambulatory group. We assessed the value of various predictive factors. At discharge, 136 patients (66.3%) were ambulatory while 69 patients (33.7%) were non-ambulatory. Factors significantly affecting walking ability at discharge were: (1) age, (2) dementia, (3) residence before injury, (4) anaemia, (5) electrolyte abnormality, (6) abnormal chest X-ray, and (7) chronic systemic disease. Each patient was scored on the basis of the above factors (1=yes, 0=no), and the total was used as the predictive score. The mean score was significantly higher (p < 0.0005) in the non-ambulatory group. It is possible to predict ambulation prognosis after hip fracture using our scoring system at the time of admission.