Forty-three hip fracture patients were included in this study. Intraoperatively, DensiProbe? Hip was inserted to the subsequent hip screw tip position within the femoral head. Peak torque to breakaway of local cancellous bone was registered. Thirty-seven patients underwent areal BMD measurements of the contralateral proximal femur. Failure of fixation was assessed radio graphically 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively.
Peak torque and femoral neck BMD showed significant correlations (R = 0.60, P = 0.0001). In regression analysis, areal BMD explained 46 % of femoral neck BMD variance in a quadratic relationship. Throughout the 12-week follow-up period, no failure of fixation was observed.
DensiProbe? Hip may capture variations of bone strength beyond areal BMD which are currently difficult to measure in vivo. A multicenter study will clarify if peak torque predicts fixation failure.