Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Treatment and Outcome of Fragility Hip Fractures In Non-COVID Patients: Comparison Between the Lockdown Period, a Historical Series and the “Pandemic Normality” in a Single Institution

Abstract

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and is still deeply affecting all aspects of public life. World governments have been forced to enact restrictive measures to stem the contagion which have led to a decrease in the movement of people within national territory and to a redirection of health care resources with a suspension of non-urgent procedures. In Italy, a lockdown was imposed from March 9th to May 3rd, 2020. As a result, a significant reduction in the overall operative volume of orthopedic trauma was expected, but it was not possible to predict a similar trend regarding fragility fractures of the proximal femur in the elderly. Methods The aim of this paper was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the operating volume for trauma surgeries and to determine how the pandemic affected the management of fragility hip fractures (FHFs) in non-COVID patients at a single Institution. Results The first result was a statistically significant reduction in the overall operative volume of orthopedic trauma during the period of the first lockdown and an increase in the mean age of patients undergoing surgery, as expected. As regard to the second aim, the incidence of FHFs remained almost unchanged during the periods analysed. The population examined were superimposable in terms of demographics, comorbidities, type of fracture, peri-operative complications, percentage of operations performed within 48 hours from hospitalization and 1-year outcome. Discussion Our results are in line with those already present in the Literature. Conclusions Our study revealed a significant impact of the restrictive anti-contagion measures on the overall orthopedic surgical volume, but, at the same time, we could affirm that the pandemic did not affect the management of FHFs in non-COVID patients, and their results.