Outcomes of elderly patients with proximal femoral fractures according to positive criteria for surgical treatment.

Abstract

Proximal femoral fractures in elderly patients are a serious problem in the aging society. Recently, surgical indications have changed due to advancements in medical technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcome of elderly patients with displaced proximal hip fractures according to our positive criteria for surgical treatment. Exclusion criteria included (1) terminal-stage malignancy; (2) a combination of an inability to walk, a severe mental disorder, and caregiver refusal of surgery; and (3) nonapproval of the anesthesiologist for surgery. The study group comprised 666 elderly patients. They were categorized into surgically and nonsurgically treated groups, and their treatment outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. The majority of patients were treated surgically (97.0% vs 3.0%). One-year survival rate was higher among surgically treated patients (82.2%-91.8%) than non-surgically treated patients (55%). The major cause of death in nonsurgically treated patients was deterioration of comorbidities (66.7%), whereas this was the cause of death in 18.9% of surgically treated patients. One-year survival rates were worse in both groups with a lower American Society of Anesthesiologists grade. The 1-year survival rate of our patients suggests that our surgical criteria offer a reasonable outcome in surgically and nonsurgically treated patients. American Society of Anesthesiologists grade and preexisting comorbidities were strongly correlated with patient outcome.