Delayed hospitalization increases mortality in displaced femoral neck fracture patients.
OBJECTIVE
Reports regarding the relationship between delayed surgery and mortality in femoral neck fracture patients are contradictory. We could not find any study in the literature investigating delayed arrival to hospital and delayed surgery as separate factors affecting mortality in femoral neck fracture patients, which was the purpose of our study.


METHODS
We analyzed 265 consecutive patients with displaced femoral neck fractures. We recorded the time period from trauma to admission, and to surgery, and correlated it to mortality during the first postoperative year.


RESULTS
We found that arrival within 6 hours had 0.4 times (CI 0.2-0.8) reduction of the risk of death within 1 year compared to those who arrived later, whereas delayed surgery after admission did not have a statistically significant effect on mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
Femoral neck fracture patients who arrived at hospital 6 hours or later after the trauma had increased mortality.
Vertelis
Arunas
A
Department of Orthopedics, Kaunas Medical University, Kaunas, Lithuania, Sweden.
Robertsson
Otto
O
Tarasevicius
Sarunas
S
Wingstrand
Hans
H
D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005265:Femoral Neck Fractures / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010343:Patient Admission; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors