Bone Fluoride in Proximal Femur Fractures

Bone fluoride concentration and bone mineral density (BMD) were evaluated in 51 female patients who had undergone hip arthroplasty due to proximal femur fracture. The hip fractures were divided into 42 neck and head fractures and 9 trochanteric fractures. BMD in the contralateral femoral neck and Ward triangle was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measurement performed within 7 days after operation. The fluoride concentration was measured in cortical and trabecular bone samples from the resected femoral head and neck. There were very strong positive correlations between age and fluoride concentrations in trabecular and cortical bone. BMD correlated negatively with bone fluoride concentration. Cortical bone taken from patients with trochanteric fractures showed higher fluoride concentrations than in cortical bone taken from patients with femoral neck and head fractures.