Clinical, laboratory, and hospital factors associated with preoperative complications in Peruvian older adults with hip fracture

by Edwin Aguirre-Milachay, Darwin A. León-Figueroa, Mario J. Valladares-Garrido

To determine the clinical, laboratory, and hospital factors associated with preoperative complications in older adults with hip fractures.

Analytical observational retrospective cohort study, whose population was older adults with a diagnosis of hip fracture treated in a hospital in northern Peru, during 2017–2019.

432 patients with a median age of 83 years (RIC: 77–88) were evaluated, with the female gender being the most prevalent (60.9%). The most common comorbidities included cardiovascular disease (68%) and diabetes (17.6%), and multimorbidity was observed in 47.2% of cases. The median number of geriatric syndromes was 2 (RIC: 1–5). The overall mortality rate was 3.2% (1.7–5.3). Analysis with the Poisson regression model found a significant association with MRC scale 3–5 degree (RR = 1.60), glucose on admission (RR = 1.01), and minimally significantly female sex (RR = 2.41).

The most commonly observed complications were infectious in nature, including pneumonia, sepsis, and urinary tract infections. The MRC scale from 3 to 5 degrees increases the risk of developing a preoperative complication; the glucose levels upon admission show a clinically irrelevant association; and in females, there is a minimally significant association in older adults with hip fractures.