Two surgical pathways for isolated hip fractures:A comparative study

BACKGROUND Hip fractures(HF)are common among the aging population,and surgery within 48 h is recommended.Patients can be hospitalized for surgery through different pathways,either trauma or medicine admitting services.AIM To compare management and outcomes among patients admitted through the trauma pathway(TP)vs medical pathway(MP).METHODS This Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective study included 2094 patients with proximal femur fractures(AO/Orthopedic Trauma Association Type 31)who underwent surgery at a level 1 trauma center between 2016-2021.There were 69 patients admitted through the TP and 2025 admitted through the MP.To ensure comparability between groups,66 of the 2025 MP patients were propensity matched to 66 TP patients by age,sex,HF type,HF surgery,and American Society of Anesthesiology score.The statistical analyses included multivariable analysis,group characteristics,and bivariate correlation comparisons with theχ^(2)test and t-test.RESULTS After propensity matching,the mean age in both groups was 75-years-old,62%of both groups were females,the main HF type was intertrochanteric(TP 52%vs MP 62%),open reduction internal fixation was the most common surgery(TP 68%vs MP 71%),and the mean American Society of Anesthesiology score was 2.8 for TP and 2.7 for MP.The majority of patients in TP and MP(71%vs 74%)were geriatric(≥65-years-old).Falls were the main mechanism of injury in both groups(77%vs 97%,P=0.001).There were no significant differences in pre-surgery anticoagulation use(49%vs 41%),admission day of the week,or insurance status.The incidence of comorbidities was equal(94%for both)with cardiac comorbidities being dominant in both groups(71%vs 73%).The number of preoperative consultations was similar for TP and MP,with the most common consultation being cardiology in both(44%and 36%).HF displacement occurred more among TP patients(76%vs 39%,P=0.000).Time to surgery was not statistically different(23 h in both),but length of surgery was significantly longer for TP(59 min vs 41 min,P=0.000).Intensive care unit and hospital length of stay were not statistically different(5 d vs 8 d and 6 d for both).There were no statistical differences in discharge disposition and mortality(3%vs 0%).CONCLUSION There were no differences in outcomes of surgeries between admission through TP vs MP.The focus should be on the patient’s health condition and on prompt surgical intervention.

Effect of weekend admission on geriatric hip fractures

BACKGROUND The care discrepancy for patients presenting to a hospital on the weekend relative to the work week is well documented.With respect to hip fractures,however,there is no consensus about the presence of a so-called“weekend effect”.This study sought to determine the effects,if any,of weekend admission on care of geriatric hip fractures admitted to a large tertiary care hospital.It was hypothesized that geriatric hip fracture patients admitted on a weekend would have longer times to medical optimization and surgery and increased complication and mortality rates relative to those admitted on a weekday.AIM To determine if weekend admission of geriatric hip fractures is associated with poor outcome measures and surgical delay.METHODS A retrospective chart review of operative geriatric hip fractures treated from 2015-2017 at a large tertiary care hospital was conducted.Two cohorts were compared:patients who arrived at the emergency department on a weekend,and those that arrived at the emergency department on a weekday.Primary outcome measures included mortality rate,complication rate,transfusion rate,and length of stay.Secondary outcome measures included time from emergency department arrival to surgery,time from emergency department arrival to medical optimization,and time from medical optimization to surgery.RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences in length of stay(P=0.2734),transfusion rate(P=0.9325),or mortality rate(P=0.3460)between the weekend and weekday cohorts.Complication rate was higher in patients who presented on a weekend compared to patients who presented on a weekday(13.3%vs 8.3%;P=0.044).Time from emergency department arrival to medical optimization(22.7 h vs 20.0 h;P=0.0015),time from medical optimization to surgery(13.9 h vs 10.8 h;P=0.0172),and time from emergency department arrival to surgery(42.7 h vs 32.5 h;P<0.0001)were all significantly longer in patients who presented to the hospital on a weekend compared to patients who presented to the hospital on a weekday.CONCLUSION This study provided insight into the“weekend effect”for geriatric hip fractures and found that day of presentation has a clinically significant impact on delivered care.