title: Preventable mortality in geriatric hip fracture inpatients.
abstract: There is a high rate of mortality in elderly patients who sustain a fracture of the hip. We aimed to determine the rate of preventable mortality and errors during the management of these patients. A 12 month prospective study was performed on patients aged > 65 years who had sustained a fracture of the hip. This was conducted at a Level 1 Trauma Centre with no orthogeriatric service. A multidisciplinary review of the medical records by four specialists was performed to analyse errors of management and elements of preventable mortality. During 2011, there were 437 patients aged > 65 years admitted with a fracture of the hip (85 years (66 to 99)) and 20 died while in hospital (86.3 years (67 to 96)). A total of 152 errors were identified in the 80 individual reviews of the 20 deaths. A total of 99 errors (65%) were thought to have at least a moderate effect on death; 45 reviews considering death (57%) were thought to have potentially been preventable. Agreement between the panel of reviewers on the preventability of death was fair. A larger-scale assessment of preventable mortality in elderly patients who sustain a fracture of the hip is required. Multidisciplinary review panels could be considered as part of the quality assurance process in the management of these patients.
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Department of Traumatology, John Hunter Hospital and University of Newcastle, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Region Mail Centre, Newcastle, NSW, 2310, Australia.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Tarrant
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Department of Traumatology, John Hunter Hospital and University of Newcastle, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Region Mail Centre, Newcastle, NSW, 2310, Australia.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Department of Traumatology, John Hunter Hospital and University of Newcastle, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Region Mail Centre, Newcastle, NSW, 2310, Australia.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Byth
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Department of Traumatology, John Hunter Hospital and University of Newcastle, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Region Mail Centre, Newcastle, NSW, 2310, Australia.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Department of Traumatology, John Hunter Hospital and University of Newcastle, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Region Mail Centre, Newcastle, NSW, 2310, Australia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Attia
authors.affiliation: John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, University of Newcastle, Department of Traumatology, John Hunter Hospital and University of Newcastle, Locked Bag 1, Hunter Region Mail Centre, Newcastle, NSW, 2310, Australia.
authors.forename: Z J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Balogh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009517:New South Wales; D015588:Observer Variation; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Hip fracture; Preventable mortality; Errors