Influence of preoperative medical status and delay to surgery on death following a hip fracture

BACKGROUND: A retrospective study of 138 patients with fractured hips was undertaken to determine if a delay to surgery beyond 24 h influenced 1-year mortality. In particular, the results of the subgroup of patients who were in the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class 3 or 4 were considered. METHODS: Patients were found using ICD-9 database information. One-year mortality data was collected from Births, Deaths and Marriages -- the New Zealand government agency that collects and stores statistics on these events. RESULTS: The 1-year mortality rate was 17.4%. Age, operation type and time to surgery did not significantly affect 1-year mortality. American Society of Anesthesiologists' Class 1 and 2 patients had a significantly lower 1-year mortality (5.3%) than ASA Class 3 and 4 patients (22.4%) (P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Time to surgery did not significantly affect 1-year mortality within each ASA Class.