Clinical characteristics and factors influencing waiting time to surgery and length of stay in elderly patients with hip fractures

Introduction To investigate clinical, laboratory findings and identify pre-operative variables associated with increased waiting time to surgery (WTS) and length of hospital stay (LOS) among hip fracture patients. Material and methods This prospective study is conducted between April 2020 and April 2021. Patients’ information was collected from medical records and subjected to analysis using a univariate and multivariate model. Results The study included 118 patients in a mean age of 79.5 years, and the majority were female (68.6 %). Overall, 66.9 % of the patients had at least one comorbidity. Almost all (95.8 %) patients had fractures due to a low-impact fall and an intertrochanteric fracture was the predominant type (61.9 %). The most abnormal laboratory findings at admission were elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (94.9 %) followed by decreased mineral density (85.1 %), anaemia (81.4 %), electrolyte abnormalities (69.4 %) and hypoalbuminemia (66.1 %). The mean of WTS among 115 patients undergoing surgical treatment was 52.1 ± 47 hours and no patient-related factors had a significant influence on WTS. The mean hospital LOS was 15.9 ± 4.7 days. Marked elevation of CRP level (OR = 3.317, p = 0.042), type of surgery (OR = 4.413, p = 0.005) and WTS (OR = 4.602, p = 0.001) were independent predictors of prolonged LOS. Conclusion Most patients with hip fractures are elderly and suffer from many comorbidities and laboratory abnormalities. No patient-related factors are predictors of WTS but the elevation of CRP, type of surgery and time of waiting to surgery influence the LOS.