Surgical delay of more than 48 hours increases mortality in older hip fracture patients

Although hip fractures in older patients are known to be a major cause of long term disability and increased risk of death, less is known about the relationship between surgical delay after hip fracture and mortality risk.

A study by Belgian investigators shows that that in older patients with hip fracture, surgical delay of more than 48 hours is significantly and independently associated with increased long-term mortality, even after adjusting for age, sex, and co-morbidities. The study analysed data from 32,383 participants with 1 years of follow-up, extracted from nine clinical cohorts and two population-based databases in the United States, Europe, Israel, Taiwan, and Brazil.

The research was presented (abstract OC18) during the European Congress on Osteoporosis & Osteoarthritis (ESCEO13-IOF) held from April 17 to 20 in Rome, Italy.

Abstracts have been published in 'Osteoporosis International', Vol. 24, Suppl. 1, 2013