Natasa Radosavljevic

Estimation of functional recovery in patients after hip fracture by Berg Balance Scale regarding the sex, age and comorbidity of participants.

Aim:  To evaluate the functional status measured by Berg Balance Scale (BBS) in elderly aged more than 65 years after hip fractures, and to evaluate the influence of sex, age and comorbidity on balance function improvement.

Hip Fractures in a Geriatric Population - Rehabilitation Based on Patients Needs

With an increased life expectancy in humans and thus an increase in the number of the elderly population, the frequency of hip fractures will rise as well. Aside from a higher incidence, hip fractures in a geriatric population is a significant problem due to the possible onset of severe and in some cases dramatic complications and consequences. The primary purpose of treatment and rehabilitation in the elderly after a hip fracture is to improve an individuals quality of life. It is important to underline that principles and methods of functional restoration after hip fracture should consider careful planning of a rehabilitation program individually for every patient and its implementation with respect to decisions made by the rehabilitation team.

Prediction functional independence measure in HIP fracture patients

The importance of early inclusion in rehabilitation program and exercise of older people after the hip fracture could be explained by the fact that physical activity influences the muscle strength, balance and eventually degree of hip pain [11]. Such determinants are very important particularly for individuals quality of life and could prevent further risks of comorbidities and falls later in life. It has been often hypothesized that the success of recovery is extremely dependent on the timeliness and adequacy of the treatment. While it is desirable to provide the best possible care as soon as possible the actual limitations that may exist in health-care systems due to a limited number of medical staff as well as limited capacity in rehabilitation programs may create need for appropriate planning and/or scheduling.

COMORBIDITY IMPACT ON SOCIAL FUNCTIONING AFTER HIP FRACTURE: THE ROLE OF REHABILITATION

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the impact of rehabilitation treatment on social functioning in elderly patients after hip fracture during a rehabilitation program. Methods: This study included 203 patients with hip fracture. Four groups were analyzed on rehabilitation: Group 1, at admission, Group 2, at discharge, Group 3, three months after discharge and Group 4, six months after discharge. The analyzed parameters included: musculoskeletal, neurological and cognitive impairments. Impairment severity was graded by cumulative index rating scale for geriatrics (CIRS-G). Evaluation of social functioning was completed by social functioning component (SFC) from quality of life (SF-36) questionnaire. Results: There was a significant improvement in SF-36 SFC values for observed impairments from admission to six months after discharge for each severity degree (p<0.01), except for CIRS-G severity degree 4 for cognitive impairment, where significance was p<0.05. For the group of patients with musculoskeletal impairment, there was a significant difference between the values of SF-36 SFC concerning different severity degrees of CIRS-G only at six months after discharge (p<0.05). Patients with neurological or cognitive impairments have shown significant differences between the values of SF-36 SFC in regard to severity degrees of CIRS-G in all observational groups. Conclusion: Different degrees of observed impairments influence the degree of social functioning recovery in the elderly after hip fracture. Level of Evidence II, Prognostic Studies .

Optimal Treatment Selection for Hip Fracture Patients using a Hybrid Decision Making System

Hip fractures are most frequent cause of hospitalization after the fall in older population and consequently have been subject of great interest in medicine and biomedical engineering. It has been observed that the incidence of hip fractures is rising at the approximate rate of 1-3% per year, with subsequent mortality rates at approximately 33% in first year after the fracture. Although in some cases the hydrotherapy may be improve recovery of patients it may not be easily accessible due to limited resources. To this purpose we propose a hybrid decision making system consisting of computer-aided decision combined with an expert opinion. We then evaluate and compare the performance of the proposed algorithms using a data sample consisting of 413 patients that have been admitted to the Institute for Rehabilitation, Belgrade, Serbia.