Outcomes of hip fracture surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose To investigate if changes to hospital operational models during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted overall time to surgery (TtS) as well as morbidity and mortality rates of hip fractures (HFx). Methods 416 patients treated for OTA 31 fractures at a single institution between January 2019 and November 2020 were reviewed. TtS as well as morbidity and mortality rates were obtained from pre-pandemic and pandemic groups. Results 263 patients were treated pre-pandemic and 153 were treated during the pandemic. There were no significant differences in median TtS, readmission rates ( p = 0.134), reoperation rates ( p = 0.052), 30-day ( p = 0.095) and 90-day ( p = 0.22) mortality rates. Conclusion Reallocation of hospital resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic did not negatively impact surgical timing or complications. TtS for HFx remains a challenge and often requires multidisciplinary care, which is complicated by a pandemic. However, this study demonstrates HFx standard of care can be maintained despite COVID-19 obstacles to treatment efficiency and efficacy.