Are patients with fractured hips giving valid consent for surgery?
Introduction: Proximal femoral fractures (intracapsular and extracapsular) most commonly occur in the elderly due to falls, with a higher incidence in women. With the UK population ageing, the incidence of fracture neck of femurs (NOF) has been steadily increasing. In 2007 there were 70,000 NOF fractures treated in the NHS. This number is expected to rise to 91,500 per annum by 2015. The aim of this observational prospective study was to see whether consent comprehension was related to AMTS in an elderly patient with a proximal femoral fracture. Materials and methods: Sixty four patients with hip fractures were included in this study. The patient was consented and an abbreviated mental test score (AMTS) was recorded on admission. Preoperative comprehension was judged using a questionnaire. Univariable linear regression analysis was performed. Results: A significant correlation between the AMTS and consent comprehension scores was found r2 = 0.680 (p<0.0001). Conclusion: We showed a str
