The association of frailty with clinical and economic outcomes among hospitalized older adults with hip fracture surgery

Frailty is a common condition among older adults with hip fracture. In our study analyzing National Inpatient Sample data, frailty was found to be associated with up to six times increase in in-patient mortality, 55% increased length of hospital stay, and 29% increase in hospital cost. Introduction Hip fracture is a significant public health issue posing adverse health outcomes and substantial economic burden to patients and society. Frailty is a prevalent geriatric condition associated with poor clinical outcome among older adults. The association between hip fracture and frailty on both clinical and economic outcomes at the national level has not been estimated. We aimed to determine the association between frailty and in-hospital mortality, length of hospital stay (LOS), and total hospital cost among older patients aged >= 65 years who underwent surgery for hip fracture. Methods We did an analysis of administrative data using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data from 2016 and 2017. Our analysis included data on 29,735 hospitalizations. We first conducted a descriptive analysis of the patient characteristics (demographics and clinical) and hospital-related factors. Three multivariable regression analysis models were then used to determine independent associations between frailty and in-hospital mortality, LOS, and total hospital cost. All three models were adjusted for patients' demographic and clinical characteristics and hospital-related factors. Results Moderate and high frailty risk were associated with higher odds of death (OR = 2.94 and 95% CI 1.91-4.51 and OR = 5.99 and 95% CI 3.79-9.47), increased LOS (17% and 55%, p < 0.0001), and higher total hospital cost (7% and 29%, p < 0.0001) respectively compared to low frailty risk. Conclusion Frailty was associated with mortality, LOS, and hospital cost after adjusting for patient demographic, clinical, and hospital-related factors. Further research is needed to explore what pre-surgical measures can be assessed to mitigate in-hospital mortality and hospital cost in frail older patients hospitalized for hip fracture surgery.