Comorbid Profile Rather than Age Determines Hip Fracture Mortality in a Nonagenarian Population

Adam Graver, Sara Merwin, Lewis Collins, Nina Kohn, Ariel Goldman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: In light of poor outcomes with nonoperative management of hip fractures, orthopedic surgeons are faced with difficult decisions about which patients are too ill or too old for surgical treatment. Questions/Purposes: This study sought to investigate if patients over 90 years had different preoperative laboratory, clinical, and injury characteristics than younger patients with the same injury. We compared our cohort with previously published data. We wished to identify if there were pre-injury risk factors associated with 30-day mortality, which could be modified to enhance postoperative outcomes. Methods: This is a retrospective review of 198 operatively managed hip fractures in patients 75 years or older. We collected data on demographics, select preoperative laboratory values, injury type, comorbidities, and 30-day mortality. Results: Eleven (5.6%) of the cohort died within 30 days of surgery, 6.3% in the younger group, and 3.7% in the older group; the difference was not statistically significant. For baseline characteristics, there was no difference between the age groups for pre-injury comorbidities, hemoglobin, serum albumin, BUN, prevalence of UTI, or fracture type. A total of 67 (35.8%) patients had evidence of UTI on admission. Conclusions: These findings reveal that in our dichotomized cohort, pre-injury characteristics were similar and age alone was not an independent predictor of mortality. These data may inform decision-making for orthopedic surgeons and the medical providers who consult to optimize these patients for surgery. We identified high rates of UTI in both age groups, a potentially remediable factor to optimize outcomes in hip fracture surgery in elderly patients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)223-235
Number of pages13
JournalHSS Journal
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 1 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • comorbidity
  • fragility fractures
  • geriatrics
  • mortality
  • orthopedic
  • postoperative

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

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