Surgical treatment for fragility hip fractures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lower short-term postoperative functional outcome and a higher complication rate compared to the pre-pandemic period

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the functional outcomes of fragility hip fracture patients. This study revealed a higher in-hospital complication rate and lower postoperative function at 3 months among patients treated during the pandemic. Therefore, modified in-hospital and post-discharge protocols should be developed for implementation during pandemic crisis periods. Introduction This study aims to investigate the in-hospital complication rate and short-term postoperative functional outcomes of fragility hip fracture (FHF) patients compared between during the COVID-19 pandemic and the same 14-month time period 1 year prior to the pandemic. Methods Using data from the Siriraj Fracture Liaison Service registry, FHF patients treated during the COVID-19 pandemic (1 March 2020 to 30 April 2021) were time-matched with FHF patients treated during the pre-pandemic period (1 March 2018 to 30 April 2019). We collected the rate of in-hospital postoperative complications and the postoperative functional outcomes at discharge and 3 months as measured by the Barthel Index (BI) and EuroQol visual analog scale (EQ-VAS). Functional outcome measures were compared between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Results There were 197 and 287 patients in the pre-pandemic and pandemic groups, respectively. At the 3-month postoperative follow-up, the mean postoperative BI score and change in BI score were both significantly lower in the pandemic group indicating poorer postoperative function. Moreover, FHF patients treated during the pandemic had significantly more inhospital complications (36.6% vs. 22.8%, p = 0.002). There was no significant difference in the 3-month EQ-VAS or change in the EQ-VAS between groups. ConclusionThe results of this study revealed a higher in-hospital complication rate and lower postoperative function at 3 months among FHF patients treated during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. Therefore, modified in-hospital and post-discharge protocols should be developed for implementation during pandemic crisis periods.

Three-year outcomes of a fracture liaison service model at a university-based tertiary care hospital in Thailand

“…A multidisciplinary care team assessed all patients with an FHF and treated them according to our center’s hip fracture protocol [ 9 ]. After the treatment, video-based osteoporosis education and supplementary reading material were provided to the patients and their caregivers.…”

“…Patients mark an “X” on the scale in the position that reflects their perception of their current health status. This tool has been validated in older adults with FHFs [ 9 , 14 ].…”