Shortage of Nurses Means Death After Hip Fracture

Two words - Anabolic Clinic.

Low nurse staffing levels are associated with increased mortality among elderly patients admitted to hospital with hip fractures, new research suggests.

In a retrospective cohort study presented here at the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2010 Annual Meeting, the risk for death among elderly patients in the hospital with hip fractures increased 22% when the nursing staff was reduced by 1 full-time nurse each day, Peter Schilling, MD, from the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, told meeting delegates.

"It is estimated that nearly 5% of elderly patients admitted with a hip fracture die during their initial hospitalization, and another third die within a year of their injury," he said. "There is very little research on how to reduce the risk of complications in these patients, but there is growing evidence of the importance of nurse staffing levels in reducing morbidity and mortality in this vulnerable population."

Hip fractures have been a deadly disease for years. Nothing new here.

Men are more likely to die from them sooner than women.

Maybe they are right about the nursing shortage making a bad situation worse.

The real issue is how to avoid fractures in the first place.

I repeat - Anabolic Clinic.