Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hip fracture patients in the aging population frequently present with various comorbidities, whilst preservation of independency and activities of daily living can be challenging. Thus, an interdisciplinary orthogeriatric treatment of these patients has recognized a growing acceptance in the last years. As there is still limited data on the impact of this approach, the present study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcome in elderly hip fracture patients, by comparing the treatment of a hospital with integrated orthogeriatric care (OGC) with a conventional trauma care (CTC). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, two-center, cohort study. In two maximum care hospitals all patients presenting with a hip fracture at the age of ≥ 70 years were consecutively assigned within a 1 year period and underwent follow-up examination 12 months after surgery. Patients treated in hospital site A were treated with an interdisciplinary orthogeriatric approach (co-managed care), patients treated in hospital B underwent conventional trauma care. Main outcome parameters were 1 year mortality, readmission rate, requirement of care (RC) and personal activities of daily living (ADL). RESULTS: A total of 436 patients were included (219 with OGC / 217 with CTC). The mean age was 83.55 (66-99) years for OGC and 83.50 (70-103) years for CTC (76.7 and 75.6% of the patients respectively were female). One year mortality rates were 22.8% (OGC) and 28.1% (CTC; p = 0.029), readmission rates were 25.7% for OGC compared to 39.7% for CTC (p = 0.014). Inconsistent data were found for activities of daily living. After 1 year, 7.8% (OGC) and 13.8% (CTC) of the patients were lost to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Interdisciplinary orthogeriatric management revealed encouraging impact on the long-term outcome of hip fracture patients in the aging population. The observed reduction of mortality, requirements of care and readmission rates to hospital clearly support the health-economic impact of an interdisciplinary orthogeriatric care on specialized wards. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was approved and registered by the bavarian medical council (BLAEK: 7/11192) and the local ethics committee of munich university (Reg. No. 234-16) and was conducted as a two-center, cohort study at a hospital with integrated orthogeriatric care and a hospital with conventional trauma care.