Orthogeriatric activity in a general hospital of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

To describe the orthogeriatric activity in the elderly with hip fractures in the Hospital Mancha Centro, based on the recommendations of the main guidelines.

Observational prospective study, comprising all patients over 65 years of age admitted to the Traumatology Unit with a hip fracture between April 2015 and December 2015. Patients were admitted under the care of the Traumatology Unit with cross-consultation carried out with the Geriatrics Department, which then carried out a pre-operative geriatric assessment and the post-operative follow-ups.

The mean pre-surgery waiting time was 48h and the overall time in hospital was 10.3±8.2 days. Patients who suffered from delirium (42.1%) did not improve as well, and were referred to nursing homes. Blood transfusions were received by 54.7% of the patients, despite 53.5% of them having received intravenous and/or oral iron after the surgery. Treatment with calcium and vitamin D was prescribed in 79% of the patients on discharge. The Rehabilitation Unit assessed 36% of the patients, with 4.8% fully, and 16.7% partially recovering their prior functional status. Upon discharge, 55% of the patients returned to their homes, and 22% were referred to short-term assisted living facilities.

This article describes how the main clinical problems are handled in the elderly with hip fractures in our hospital, based on recommendations of the main guidelines and publications.

Our hospital follows the recommended guidelines. Aspects for improvement include the management of anaemia during admission and rehabilitation.