Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34221538›Full record

ArticleGeriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation2021

Preventing Fragility Fractures: A 3-Month Critical Window of Opportunity.

Abby Howenstein, Meghan Wally, Sarah Pierrie, Gisele Bailey, Tamar Roomian, Rachel B Seymour, Madhav Karunakar

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Geriatric orthopaedic surgery & rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Factors associated with hip fracture following a fall-associated hospitalization in older adults: a retrospective cohort study.Osteoporosis international : a journal established as result of cooperation between the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of the USA · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Abby HowensteinDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Meghan WallyDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Sarah PierrieDepartment of Orthopaedics, San Antonio Military Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA.
Gisele BaileyDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Tamar RoomianDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Rachel B SeymourDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA.
Madhav KarunakarDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Charlotte, NC, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-4524
OrthoCarolina · USBrooke Army Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLow-energy falls are the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality in the elderly. In the past, physicians focused on treating fractures resulting from falls rather than preventing them. The purpose of this study is to identify patients with a hospital encounter for fall prior to a fracture as an opportunity for pre-injury intervention when patients might be motivated to engage in falls prevention. MATERIALS &

methodsA retrospective analysis of all emergency room and inpatient encounters in 2016 with an ICD10 diagnosis code including "fall" across a tri-state health system was performed. Subsequent encounters with diagnosis of fracture within 2 years were then identified. Data was collected for time to subsequent fracture, fracture type and location, and length of stay of initial encounter.

resultsThere were 12,382 encounters for falls among 10,589 patients. Of those patients, 1,040 (9.8%) sustained a subsequent fracture. Fractures were most commonly lower extremity fractures (661 fractures; 63.5%), including hip fractures (447 fractures; 45.87%). Median time from fall to fracture was 105 days (IQR 16-359 days). DISCUSSION: Falls are an important, modifiable risk factor for fragility fracture. This study demonstrates that patients are presenting to the hospital with one of the main modifiable risk factors for fracture within a time window that allows for intervention.

conclusionsPresentation to the hospital for a fall is a vital opportunity to intervene and prevent subsequent fracture in a high-risk population.

Indexed as

elderlyfallsfragility fractureprevention

Identifiers

PMID34221538
PMCPMC8221684
OpenAlexW3173787724

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.