Hip fracture in the elderly is associated with a high risk of early mortality, poor functional recovery and failure to return home after surgery.
Previous work in collaboration between the Anaesthesia and Orthopaedic departments in Nottingham has shown that it is possible to predict early deaths following surgery at the time of admission and has led to the development of the nationally recognised Nottingham Hip Fracture Score.
According to their study published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, Dr Iain Moppett of the Division of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care and his team explored whether this score could identify patients at higher risk of one year mortality as well, particularly in those who survive the first thirty days after surgery.
The researchers found that the Nottingham Hip Fracture Score worked well to identify patients at risk for later mortality. This would be of benefit not only in discussions with patients and their families and carers, but also it would allow hospitals to report their outcomes based on the underlying risk of their patient populations.
Reference:
BRITISH JOURNAL OF ANAESTHESIA VOL 106; NUMBER 4 (2011) pp. 501-504 Nottingham Hip Fracture Score as a predictor of one year mortality in patients undergoing surgical repair of fractured neck of femur Wiles, M. D.; Moran, C. G.; Sahota, O.; Moppett, I. K.; doi: 10.1093/bja/aeq405; First published online: January 28, 2011.
Posted on Wednesday 2nd November 2011