Postoperative complications of spinal vs general anesthesia in elderly patients undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty

Elderly patients with hip fractures are at high risk for mortality due to postsurgical complications. Hip hemiarthroplasty is a routine procedure done in elderly patients for surgical repair  of femoral neck fractures. Both general and spinal anesthesia can be used in elderly patients undergoing hemiarthroplasty. Rates of postoperative complications among the two anesthetic choices have not been directly compared. In this study, we compare the rates of postoperative complications in elderly patients (age greater than 70) undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fractures using a national database.

Data for the years 2015-2020 from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) were used for the study. Patients greater than 70 years of age who received a hip hemiarthroplasty with general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia were identified using CPT procedure codes. Pertinent preoperative variables and rates of postoperative complications were characterized and analyzed.

Our study found that elderly patients who received spinal anesthesia had, on average, longer length of stays but shorter operative times compared to patients who received general anesthesia. Furthermore, we found that patients who received spinal anesthesia had lower rates of systemic sepsis, cardiac arrests, and blood transfusions when compared to patients who received general anesthesia. Finally, we found that overall rates of mortality were significantly lower in the spinal anesthesia cohort compared to the general anesthesia cohort.

Our work suggests that patients who underwent spinal anesthesia for hip arthroplasty may have lower rates of postoperative complications. This work further highlights the role of anesthetic choice in preventing complications following hip hemiarthroplasty procedures.