A case–control study of 30-day mortality in periprosthetic hip fractures and hip fractures

Abstract

Introduction There are increasing numbers of periprosthetic femoral fractures, which have high mortality rates. These fractures occur in a similar demographic to hip fractures. There has been limited research on mortality following these fractures. This study compared 30-day mortality in periprosthetic hip fractures with case-matched hip fractures. Materials and methods Case notes of periprosthetic hip fractures between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2015 were reviewed retrospectively at a single institution. There were 173 periprosthetic hip fractures over the seven years of the study. All hip fractures attending the same institution have data collected prospectively for the National Hip Fracture Database. Data were analysed from the Hip Fracture Database. A power calculation was undertaken; 173 periprosthetic hip fractures were matched to 865 hip fractures individually for age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists grade and capacity. Results The median wait to surgery was 88 hours for periprosthetic fractures and 23 hours for hip fractures (p < 0.00001); 22.5% of patients with periprosthetic fractures underwent surgery within 36 hours compared with 68.2% of those with hip fractures (p < 0.0001). The median length of stay was 16 days for periprosthetic fractures and 10 days for hip fractures (p < 0.00001). The 30-day mortality was 6.4% for periprosthetic hip fractures and 3.1% for case-matched hip fractures (odds ratio 2.11, 95% confidence interval 1.03–4.36; p = 0.043). Conclusions Periprosthetic hip fractures have a significantly higher mortality than hip fractures. Further research should aim to improve outcomes in these patients.