Evaluation of Hospital Indicators Before and After the Implementation of an Orthogeriatric Unit in Older People with Hip Fracture: 5 Years of Follow-Up

Abstract

Background: In the older population, hip fracture (HF) is considered a serious public health problem worldwide since it increases morbidity and mortality. Objective: analyze hospital indicators of care, sociodemographic, clinical and geriatric variables, before and after the implementation of the Orthogeriatric Unit for older adults with acute phase hip fracture at the Hospital de la Policia No. 1 Quito (HPNQ1). Materials and methods: observational, retrospective, analytical and single-center study completed during the period between January 1, 2012 to December 21, 2017. The sample was a non-probabilistic sample, with 77 participants of 65 years or older admitted with a diagnosis of HF. Information was obtained from the clinical history with confidentiality measures in the handling of information accordingly with the principles of bioethics Results: mean age of participants was 82.51 (SD= 8.51, range 65 – 99), with a ratio of 1.85 females per 1 male. Osteoporosis and polypharmacy were significantly associated with HF. Prior to the creation of the Orthogeriatric Unit, the hospital indicators showed that the average stay was 11 days and after the implementation of the unit this was reduced to an average of only 8 days, and costs decreased by 30% ($13588.22 vs $ 9814.04 before and after the implementation of an Orthogeriatric unit, respectively). Conclusion: the orthogeriatric unit substantially improves hospital indicators, reduces total hospital stay by 50% and costs by 30%.