Femoral shaft fractures in all ages. An epidemiological study in Al- Najaf

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss an important fracture, its incidence and causes and to find the effective measures to decrease its occurrence.
Material and method: between Jan.1999 and Jan.2002 all patient with fracture shaft of femur who were admitted to alsader teaching hospital in AL-Najaf were investigated for age, sex, cause of the fracture, and period of hospitalisation. Results: The number of the patients was 494.There were 351 male and 143 female. Male to female ratio was 2.4:1.The age was ranging from 2 days to 81 years with mean of 18 years. The mean . hospitalisation period was 9 days. The main three causes of the fractures were road accident (44%), fall from height (25%), and fall (23%). There was no seasonal variation. The incidence of the fracture in children aged 0-15 years was 26.5 per 100.000 child per year. Patients with multiple fractures and other associated injuries represent 13% and most of them were children and the main cause was road accidents. Conclusions: Children were the main victims and road accidents were important cause especially in the most serious injuries. Further preventive measures are needed to decrease the incidence of the fracture especially among children.