Factors associated with delayed surgery in elderly hip fractures in India

Early hip fracture surgery is recommended to decrease the morbidity and mortality. The extent to which such guidelines are being followed in developing countries like India is unknown. About 20% of the patients presented to hospital after 24 hours of injury, and only one-third had surgery within 48 hours of presentation.IntroductionEarly hip fracture surgery is recommended to decrease the morbidity and mortality following hip fractures. Understanding the factors responsible for delay in surgery is important to improve the quality of hip fracture care. This study was conducted to study the factors causing delay in elderly hip fracture surgery in India. MethodsIn this prospective study, 272 consecutive hip fracture surgeries at a single hospital were included. Delayed surgery was defined as when the time to surgery (reaching hospital to start of incision) was more than 48 hours. Additionally, the total time to surgery (including time taken for patients to reach hospital after injury) was studied. Factors associated with delayed surgery were assessed using regression models. ResultsEighty-seven (32%) patients had a surgery within 48 hours of presentation. Majority of the patients had a delay (82%, N = 151/185) due to one or more medical reasons. Fifty-four (20%) patients presented to hospital after 24 hours of injury. The mean total time to surgery was 112 90 hours with time after reaching hospital contributing to 78% of the total time. Multiple comorbidities (odds ratio, OR = 3.47 [1.42-8.45]), fall as mode of injury (OR = 3.54 [1.61-7.80]), requiring an additional investigation (OR = 10.4 [3.4-31.81]), and requiring arthroplasty (OR = 40.57 [7.01-234.97]) were independently associated with delayed surgery. Conclusion Only about one-third of the patients received surgery within 48 hours of reaching the hospital, and about 20% of the patients presented to hospital after 24 hours of injury. Delayed surgery was primarily due to medical comorbidities. Hospitals should establish protocols to ensure faster optimization of patients.