channelnewsasia.com - Hip fractures on the rise
   
 
  blogs  
 
yournews
   
   
Video Finance Lifestyle Travel Weather Discussion TV Shows
CNA Live    | About Us 
 
  Home ›
 
Singapore News

 
 

Hip fractures on the rise
By Sheralyn Tay, TODAY | Posted: 09 May 2008 1152 hrs

 
 
Photos  of

   
 

SINGAPORE: Imagine bones so fragile that a slight fall can cause them to crack or shatter. For sufferers of the brittle bone disease osteoporosis, the result can be painful, and for the elderly who make up a large proportion of those afflicted, life-threatening.

According to Dr Lau Tang Ching, a consultant rheumatologist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), studies show a quarter of the elderly with an osteoporosis hip fracture die within a year of the injury from complications like pneumonia and bed sores. Among the survivors, about one in 10 are bed-ridden, and another quarter wheelchair-bound, he added.

The incidence of osteoporosis fractures here, also called fragility fractures, is going up in tandem with the greying population. Currently, one in 12 Singaporeans is aged 65 and over, but this will rise to one in five by 2030.

Hip fractures have risen four-fold since 1960 and affect about one in every 250 persons aged over 50 now, while an estimated 20,000 female Singaporeans aged 50 to 80 have the condition.

This adds urgency for better osteoporosis management here, especially among those who have already had one fall, as they were more likely to suffer a subsequent, and more fatal, injury, said Dr Lau.

A recently-concluded Osteoporosis Disease Management Programme by the National Healthcare Group (NHG) ran from 2003 to last year and included some 1,000 patients from TTSH, the National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital. The findings of the programme may shed some light on improving patient outcomes.

Prior to the programme, only about 16 per cent of patients with fragility hip fractures were on osteoporosis treatment post-injury, and this proportion dropped to 3.8 per cent after two years.

But, through counselling by specially-trained case managers, the take-up rate of osteoporosis treatment climbed to 44 per cent, while the adherence rate after two years was 71.2 per cent.

Ms Fadzleen Johari, an osteoporosis case manager at TTSH, counsels six to 10 patients a day, and has seen a marked difference in patients. The rapport she builds with these patients through face-to-face sessions and call reminders has made them more aware and empowered, she said.

More significantly, the rate of overall fractures has dropped by 42 per cent. This means significant savings as the average hospitalisation bill for a fragility fracture is about S$12,000, and subsequent cost of care in the first year can be double that.

Dr Lau, who presented the findings of the study at Thursday's NHG Disease Management Conference, said that the scheme would be fine-tuned and expanded. -
TODAY/fa

 

 



Other singapore News
Two-year-old boy dies after tested positive for H1N1
Man charged with alleged murder of 6-year-old boy
SAF to send 13-man medical team to Afghanistan
Husband urges wife to go for surgery, donates kidney
Some clinics say higher demand for flu jabs could be from under-18s
NKF says deficit will not affect operations
Consumers back proposals to regulate real estate agents
Trainee policemen get a dose of reality
Courts lends a hand to We Are One project
Decomposed body of 6-year-old boy found; 31-year-old suspect arrested
Tobacco retailer fined S$2,500 for selling cigarettes to underage youth
Ferry services resume between Tanjung Balai and Singapore
DBS and SBI offer new remittance service to India
1 in 5 smokers say yes to smoking in public toilets: poll
SAF medical team sent to help Padang quake victims awarded medals
27 CEOs from marine sector make commitment to workplace safety
Raffles Hotel Annual Christmas Tree Auction to benefit five charities
47% of S'poreans feel that people with disabilities need help: survey
Police remind public to be alert to kidnap scams
SM Goh calls on Lao President; discuss economic development
S'porean film-makers can enhance skills with "The Reel Experience"
PM Lee meets Lord Mandelson in London
Police training gets new dose of realism
Govt campaign to promote family values wins big at advertising awards
Spectators can participate in Chingay Parade next year

 

 
Affiliate Sites:
 
About Us  |  Contact Us  |  Advertise with Us  |  Terms & Conditions