Thirty-two cases of intertrochanteric fractures of the femur in elderly people with sequelae of cerebral thrombosis

  Intertrochanteric fractures of the femur in elderly people with the sequelae of cerebral thrombosis are more common in clinical practice and have some specificity in the perioperative treatment. From January 2012 to November 2013, 32 such patients were admitted to our hospital, 2 were treated conservatively and 30 were treated surgically. The remaining 28 patients had fracture healing in 3 months and returned to pre-fracture status with satisfactory treatment results. 82.5 years old. The history of cerebral thrombosis ranged from 0.5 to 8 years, with 14 cases of left-sided limb incomplete paralysis, 4 cases of left-sided limb complete paralysis, 12 cases of right-sided limb incomplete paralysis, and 2 cases of right-sided limb complete paralysis. Jensen’s classification: type I 4 cases; type II 3 cases; type III 8 cases; type IV 12 cases; type V 5 cases. Time of admission: 25 cases were admitted to the hospital as an emergency after injury; 4 cases were admitted between 1 day and 1 week after injury, among which 3 had decubitus ulcers on the sacrococcygeal region; 2 cases were admitted 1 week after fracture, among which 1 had decubitus ulcers on the sacrococcygeal region and 1 had multiple decubitus ulcers; 1 case was admitted 15 days after injury with multiple decubitus ulcers.  1.2 Preoperative preparation After admission, skin traction of the affected limbs was performed, routine laboratory tests and examinations were performed, and ultrasound examination of the deep veins of both lower limbs was applied to exclude the occurrence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). For emergency patients, routine blood tests and five coagulation items were checked urgently, if platelets were not low, five coagulation items were normal or suggested hypercoagulable state, and contraindications such as peptic ulcer and cardiogenic cerebral infarction were excluded. For emergency patients, anticoagulation therapy with low molecular heparin calcium was given after 12 hours of injury, and anticoagulation therapy was given immediately for patients who were admitted more than 12 hours after injury. For comorbid other medical diseases, ask the appropriate internal medicine consultation. For patients with decubitus ulcers, treatment with drug changes was given, along with intensive care and regular turning. For all patients, give skin traction or bone traction brake on the affected limb to reduce pain and apply analgesic treatment reasonably; understand the patient’s sleeping condition; communicate with the patient to reduce the patient’s psychological pressure and maintain an optimistic state of mind. Let the patient’s family understand the purpose and significance of the operation and actively cooperate with the doctor’s treatment. Ask the anesthesiologist to consult and perform preoperative preparation. If conditions allow, operate as early as possible.  1.3 Treatment Among the 32 patients, one case had a recurrent massive cerebral infarction shortly after admission and was transferred to internal medicine for treatment. The remaining 30 patients were treated with minimally invasive PFNA. After 12 hours postoperatively, anticoagulation was given. On the second day after surgery, patients must be allowed to sit up passively or actively under the guidance of a physician, and those who were not in severe pain could stand up from bed, partially or fully weight bearing, but careful nursing care was required to prevent further falls.  2, Results All 30 patients were discharged from the hospital within 3 days to 2 weeks after surgery. One case died of sudden myocardial infarction 3 months after surgery, and one case died of cerebral infarction 4 months after surgery, while the rest of the patients had fracture healing and returned to pre-fracture status after 3 months.  3. Discussion The sequelae of cerebral thrombosis occurring in elderly people with intertrochanteric fractures are characterized by a large number of combined medical diseases, most commonly such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease, etc.; often accompanied by coagulation abnormalities, osteoporosis, emotional depression, and inadequate home care. Some patients have had multiple previous cerebral infarctions.  The key to the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures of the femur is to reduce the mortality rate and to reduce the incidence of hip entropion [1]. The occurrence of femoral intertrochanteric fractures in elderly people with cerebral thrombosis sequelae and many comorbidities undoubtedly increases the high mortality rate of patients. Through the clinical treatment practice of 32 patients, the following experiences were summarized: pay attention to pain and sleep, do a good job of psychological guidance; pay attention to anticoagulation and anti-thrombosis, early surgical treatment; surgical modality should be clear, and early postoperative bed release.  Pay attention to pain and sleep, and do a good job of psychological guidance. Give skin traction or bone traction brake to the affected limb after admission to reduce pain; if the pain is severe, give analgesic treatment reasonably; ask patients about their sleep and correct sleep inversion; communicate fully with patients to eliminate their fear and pessimism and prevent geriatric prosopagnosia [2]. Listen to the patient’s family, introduce the treatment principles and healing situation in detail, and seek active cooperation from the family.  Pay attention to anticoagulation and thrombosis prevention, and early surgical treatment. For the occurrence of intertrochanteric fracture in elderly people with cerebral thrombosis sequelae, it is more important to pay attention to the prevention of thromboembolic disease, and low-molecular heparin is safe and effective in preventing thromboembolic disease[3] . Within 12 hours of hip fracture, the coagulation system starts to activate and is most active from 48 to 72 hours[4] . Therefore, for patients admitted to the hospital in an emergency, the application of calcium oligomeric heparin for the prevention of thromboembolic disease should be started 12 hours after the injury, but the contraindications to the application of oligomeric heparin, such as peptic ulcer and cardiogenic cerebral infarction, should be noted. Low-molecular heparin calcium therapy must be stopped 12 hours before surgery. Interrogative medicine has demonstrated that early surgery for high-grade intertrochanteric fractures can reduce mortality[5] . After admission, the patient is given a comprehensive examination as early as possible to fully assess the physical condition, and relevant departments are asked to consult, treat comorbidities, and identify and address contraindications to surgery in a timely manner. After perfecting the examination, consult the anesthesiology department, and take surgical treatment as early as possible after no contraindications to anesthesia.  The surgical modality should be clearly defined and the patient should leave the bed early after surgery. Since it is an elderly person with sequelae of cerebral thrombosis, minimally invasive PFNA is used to treat intertrochanteric fractures of the femur, regardless of the fracture type of Jensen’s typing, with the following advantages: short operative time; small surgical incision; little re-injury; no intraoperative blood transfusion; more biomechanical internal fixation; no postoperative incision drainage; and the possibility of not applying antibiotics. Since several studies have shown that unrestricted weight bearing does not increase the complications of femoral intertrochanteric fracture fixation [6], it is important to leave bed early after surgery to reduce complications caused by bed rest, and physicians should be present to instruct patients how to sit up, how to leave bed, how to bear weight, how much weight to bear, whether they can walk, and how to walk. The doctor should instruct the family how to take care of the patient at home and follow up once a month for 3 months after discharge.  The treatment of intertrochanteric fracture in elderly people with cerebral thrombosis has certain peculiarities, and attention should be paid to perioperative treatment and care, which is related to whether the elderly patient can return to the physical state before the trauma, and even the life safety.