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Case Reports: Two Femoral Insufficiency Fractures after Long-term Alendronate Therapy

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Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

Bisphosphonates are widely used for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Although short-term safety and efficacy of these drugs have been investigated and documented, an increasing number of recent reports draw attention to the possible correlation between long-term alendronate therapy and the occurrence of insufficiency fractures in the proximal femur owing to what is known as severely suppressed bone turnover. We describe two femoral insufficiency fractures in two women receiving long-term alendronate therapy. The first woman sustained a periprosthetic fracture at the tip of the femoral stem whereas the other woman had a fracture in the subtrochanteric region. We analyze the characteristics and natural course of these two unique fractures, and emphasize the importance of being aware of the possible correlation between long-term alendronate therapy and insufficiency femoral fractures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sundsvall Hospital, 851 86, Sundsvall, Sweden

    Arkan S. Sayed-Noor MD, FEBOT, PhD & Göran O. Sjödén MD, PhD

  2. Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Norrland University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden

    Göran O. Sjödén MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Arkan S. Sayed-Noor MD, FEBOT, PhD
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  2. Göran O. Sjödén MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arkan S. Sayed-Noor MD, FEBOT, PhD.

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Each author certifies that he/she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the reporting of these case reports, that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research, and that informed consent for participation in the study was obtained.

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Sayed-Noor, A.S., Sjödén, G.O. Case Reports: Two Femoral Insufficiency Fractures after Long-term Alendronate Therapy. Clin Orthop Relat Res 467, 1921–1926 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0725-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-0725-x

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