Why the study?
Do fast-track care pathways and government initiatives reduce 30-day mortality in elderly patients with hip fractures?
Do fast-track care pathways and government initiatives reduce 30-day mortality in elderly patients with hip fractures?
Fast-track care pathways and government initiatives appear to have contributed to a steady reduction in 30-day mortality rates for elderly patients with hip fractures in the UK.
Supports potential benefit of fast-track pathways in hip fracture care; leaves open need for RCTs to confirm causality.
Bone density insufficiency is the main cause for significant musculoskeletal trauma in the elderly population following low-energy falls. Hip fractures, in particular, represent an important public health concern taking into account the complicated needs of the patients due to their medical comorbidities as well as their rehabilitation and social demands. The annual cost for the care of these patients is estimated at around 2 billion pounds (£) in the UK and is ever growing. An increased early and late mortality rate is also recognised in these injuries together with significant adversities for the patients. Lately, in order to improve the outcomes of this special cohort of patients, fast-track care pathways and government initiatives have been implemented. It appears that these measures have contributed in a steady year-by-year reduction of the 30-day mortality rates. Whether we have currently reached a plateau or whether an ongoing reduction in mortality rates will continue to be observed is yet to be seen.
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Giannoulis et al. (2016) studied this question.
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