Skip to main content

Mortality Increased With Delayed Admission for Patients With Hip Fracture

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Oct 10, 2024.

via HealthDay

THURSDAY, Oct. 10, 2024 -- For patients with hip fracture, delayed admission is associated with increased mortality risk, according to a study published online Oct. 8 in Emergency Medicine Journal.

Nicholas D. Clement, M.B.B.S., M.D., Ph.D., from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and colleagues undertook a single-center evaluation involving patients aged older than 50 years who were admitted to a Scottish hospital through the emergency department with a hip fracture from January 2019 to June 2022 to examine the impact of delayed admission, defined as spending more than four hours in the emergency department from arrival.

The cohort included 3,266 patients (mean age, 81 years); 38.6 percent had delayed admission. The researchers identified 1,314 deaths (40.2 percent) during a median follow-up of 529 days. Survival at 90 days was significantly lower for patients with versus without delayed admission (92.9 versus 95.7 percent; hazard ratio, 0.76). There was an independent association for delayed disposition with increased mortality risk at 90 days and final follow-up (adjusted hazard ratios, 1.36 and 1.15, respectively). There was also an association for delay with longer length of hospital stay (difference in medians of one day). No differences were seen in the risk for delirium on the ward or return to place of residence.

"There was an association between emergency department waiting time and poorer hip fracture outcomes," the authors write. "Adoption of emergency department-accelerated care pathways in our institution may help improve their outcomes."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

ENDO: Osteoporosis Treatment Benefits Elderly Patients With Fragility Fracture

THURSDAY, July 17, 2025 -- Patients with osteoporosis who suffer a fragility fracture at age 80 years or older have better five-year outcomes if they receive treatment for...

AI Can Accurately Estimate Bone Mineral Density and Classify Osteoporosis

WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2025 -- An artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted diagnostic system can accurately estimate bone mineral density (BMD) and classify osteoporosis category...

Pediatric Clavicular Fracture Rates Stable From 2014 to 2023

TUESDAY, July 8, 2025 -- From 2014 to 2023, the overall rates of pediatric clavicular fractures remained stable, but there was a significant increase in admission rates, according...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.