A cracked rib in a 70+ year old usually requires about two weeks of hospitalization. There may be complications with the fracture and the healing ability of the elderly is reduced, so the hospital stay should be extended appropriately. General hospitalization and observation is to prevent or treat complications in a timely manner, elderly people with cracked ribs may be reluctant to breathe on their own due to pain, resulting in lung infections, and generally require hospitalization and observation for about two weeks. As most of the elderly have osteoporosis, it can cause pathological fractures, such as coughing too hard can cause fractures. It is recommended to observe for about two weeks if there is no infection in the lungs or if the infection has been controlled and there are no other complications, then the patient can be discharged to go home and recuperate, remembering to review the healing of the fracture on a regular basis.