Pressure Ulcers and Prolonged Hospital Stay in Hip Fracture Patients Affected by Time-to-Surgery

摘要

Background: Hip fractures are associated with high morbidity. Pressure ulcer formation after hip surgery is often related to delayed patient mobilization. The objectives of this study were to determine whether time-to-surgery affects development of pressure ulcers postoperatively and, thus, length of hospital stay. Patients and Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive hip fracture patients, aged 60 years and above, who underwent surgery between 1995 and 2001. The primary outcome was in-hospital development of pressure ulcers. The secondary outcome measure was the overall length of hospital stay. Analyses were adjusted for relevant confounders. Results: Of the 722 patients enrolled, 488 patients (68%) received surgery at 12 h after admission. Approximately 30% (n = 214) developed pressure ulcers during admission, whilst 19% of patients operated within 12 h of admission developed pressure ulcers. Time-to-surgery was an independent predictor of both development of pressure ulcers (OR = 1.7, 95% confi-dence interval [Cl] = 1.2-2.6; p = 0.008) and length of hospital stay (11.3 vs 13.3 days in the early and the late surgery group, respectively, p = 0.050). Furthermore, development of pressure ulcers was associated with prolonged postoperative hospital stay (19.5 vs 11.1 days for patients with and without pressure ulcers, respec-tively, p = 0.001)Interpretation: In hip fracture patients, time-to-sur-gery was an independent predictor of both postopera-tive pressure ulcer development and prolonged hospital stay. These data suggest that the implementation of an early surgery protocol following admission for hip fractures may reduce both the postoperative compli-cations and overall hospital stay.