Time to surgery and 30-day mortality after hip fracture: An observational study of 29,695 patients reported to the Spanish National Hip Fracture Registry (SNHFR)

Abstract

In order to investigate the effect of surgical delay on mortality at one month after a hip fracture in the elderly, a retrospective study was carried out on patients from the Spanish National Hip Fracture Registry between 2017 and 2019. 29,695 patients were included. Mortality at one month was 7.8%. Surgical delay was significantly higher in those who died (66 h) than in those who survived (56.5 h). Mortality at one month was associated with a surgical delay of more than 2 days (7.5%) versus less (5.4%). Mortality at one month was 5.2% in those operated on within 24 h and 9.2% in those operated on within 120 h. Conclusions: Surgery performed within 48 hours was significantly associated with greater mobilization the day after surgery, fewer pressure ulcers, shorter hospital stay, and less mortality at one month after fracture.