Imaging of hip fractures

Hip fractures are a cause of significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly, and therefore accurate and timely diagnosis and management is essential. If left untreated, the mortality rate of hip fractures is 10% within 30 days, 15% within a year and 40% within two years. The mainstay of diagnosing these fractures is with imaging. Mortality rate can be significantly improved with timely surgery, especially if undertaken within the first 72 hours. Two main types of traumatic hip fractures are considered; intracapsular or extracapsular, of which extracapsular can be further divided into subtrochanteric or intertrochanteric fractures. Pathological, insufficiency and peri-prosthetic hip fractures also use similar imaging methods; however, their details are beyond the scope of this article.

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