Early Hip Fracture Surgery Within 24 hours did not Reduce the Mortality Rate but Resulted in Less Postoperative Opioid use and a Shorter Length of Stay: A Retrospective Study of 276 Patients From a Tertiary Private Hospital in Thailand

Introduction: The comparative results of early hip fracture surgery including mortality and postoperative complications in Thailand were not reported. Therefore, we conducted this study to compare the outcomes between patients who received hip surgery within and after 24 hours. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at a single center, a tertiary private hospital in Thailand. The medical records of patients who were admitted from 2018 to 2020 were reviewed. Patients aged <50 years, high-energy fracture, pathological fractures, or multiple traumas were excluded. The patients were categorized into two groups for comparison: surgery within and surgery after 24 hours groups. The outcome measures were in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year mortality rates, length of stay, and the incidences and severities of postoperative complications. Results: A total of 276 hip fracture patients were analyzed, with the majority (77.9%) undergoing surgery within 24 hours. Patients who underwent earlier surgery had a significantly shorter hospital stay [6 (4, 9) vs 8 (7, 13) days, P < .001]. The cumulative mortality rates at in-hospital, 30 days, and 1 year were 0%, 1.1%, and 2.5%, respectively. The most common postoperative complications observed were anemia (43.1%) and acute kidney injury (32.6%). However, there were no statistically significant differences in mortality rates (P > .05) or postoperative complications (P = .410) between the two groups. Conclusion: While surgery within 24 hours showed some benefits, such as a shorter hospital stay and reduced pain rescue, it did not reduce mortality or major complications in hip fracture patients.