24-hour Electro-cardiographic Monitoring in Hip Fracture Patients

Elderly hip fracture patients are often referred for 24-hour electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring to investigate falls of uncertain aetiology, yet there is limited evidence to support its use within these patients. Moreover, current guidelines for secondary prevention of hip fracture do not emphasise the usefulness of 24-hour ECG monitoring in determining fall aetiology,1 possibly because they have not used hip fracture specific data when making recommendations. Although any serious injury or fracture, resulting from a fall in the elderly population, is associated with a high degree of morbidity, hip fracture is undoubtedly one of the most devastating. The probability of a