Anemia at Presentation Predicts Acute Mortality and Need for Readmission Following Geriatric Hip Fracture

There is a paucity of research regarding the relationship between anemia and postoperative morbidity and mortality among geriatric patients presenting with hip fracture. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of anemia at presentation on 30-day morbidity and mortality among geriatric patients with hip fracture.

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database was queried for all hip fracture patients ≥60 years old from 2011 to 2016. Included were all emergency unilateral, nonpathological hip fractures (femoral neck, intertrochanteric, or subtrochanteric) treated with arthroplasty, intramedullary nailing, or open reduction and internal fixation. Anemia was classified as a hematocrit (HCT) level of <0.41 and <0.36 for male and female patients, respectively. Age, body mass index (BMI), race, comorbidities, smoking status, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, baseline functional status, time to surgery, operative time, anesthesia type, need for transfusion, fixation method, length of stay (LOS), and discharge destination were collected. Our primary outcome of interest was 30-day postoperative mortality, with all-cause readmission and any postoperative ischemic events (cerebrovascular accident [CVA] and myocardial infarction [MI]) analyzed as secondary outcomes. A multivariable regression analysis was performed and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated while controlling for confounding variables.

Of 34,805 patients identified, 22,469 (65%) were anemic at presentation (63% female; mean age, 80 ± 8 years), while 12,336 (35%) were non-anemic (85% female; mean age, 79 ± 8 years). Anemia at presentation was independently associated with higher odds of mortality (OR,1.3 [95% CI, 1.1 to 1.5]) and readmission (OR, 1.2 [95% CI, 1.1 to 1.3]), while no relationship was observed for MI (OR, 1.1 [95% CI, 0.9 to 1.4]) or CVA (OR, 0.8 [95% CI, 0.6 to 1.1]).

Our findings suggest that anemia at presentation is associated with greater 30-day postoperative morbidity and mortality in geriatric hip fracture patients. Additional research should focus on elucidating this modifiable risk factor and advancing the preoperative optimization of hip fracture patients.

Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.