Association between surgeon experience, level of supervision, and outcomes after hip fracture

Patients with a hip fracture are treated by surgeons at various stages of training, under different levels of supervision. However, it is unclear whether their experience and the level of supervision are associated with patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between operating surgeon experience and level of supervision, and the patients' subsequent quality of life (QoL), mortality, and complications after surgery for a hip fracture.

A multicentre, prospective cohort study of patients aged 60 years and older with a hip fracture in the UK. Primary exposure was operating surgeon grade and level of supervision. Outcomes were health-related quality of life (HRQoL; EuroQol five-dimension five-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L)), mortality, and complications at four months. Linear and Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to assess the relationship between operating surgeon grade and level of supervision, and HRQoL, mortality, and complications.

Among 24,523 patients with a hip fracture, there were 12,702 consultant-performed and 11,365 resident-performed operations. Operations performed by supervised residents had better recovery of EQ-5D-5L (mean difference (MD) 0.02, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.03; p < 0.001), a similar risk of mortality (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.01; p = 0.083), but higher risks of reoperation (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.57; p = 0.009), blood transfusion (HR 1.44, 95% CI 1.28 to 1.62; p < 0.001), acute kidney injury (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.04; p < 0.001), lower respiratory tract infection (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.35; p < 0.001), cerebrovascular accident (HR 1.98, 95% CI 1.33 to 2.95, p < 0.001), and myocardial infarction (HR 1.91, 95% CI 1.33 to 2.74; p < 0.001), compared with operations performed by consultants. Operations performed by unsupervised residents had better recovery of EQ-5D-5L (MD 0.02, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.03; p = 0.008), a similar risk of mortality (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.06; p = 0.260), but a higher risk of blood transfusion (HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.80; p < 0.001) compared with operations performed by consultants.

Operations performed by residents were associated with a better recovery of QoL, similar mortality, but slightly more complications compared with consultants. This highlights the need for tailored supervision and structured training to optimize outcomes and ensure patient safety.