Correlation between time until surgical treatment and mortality among elderly patients with fractures at the proximal end of the femur

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to analyze the possible association between delay in receiving surgical treatment and mortality among elderly patients with fractures at the proximal end of the femur. Methods: 269 patients with fractures at the proximal end of the femur (femur neck and intertrochanteric fractures) who were treated surgically at Hospital Sao Paulo, UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, between January 2003 and December 2007, were studied. The following attributes were analyzed and compared with the literature relating to this subject: sex, age, type of fracture, classification of the fracture, affected side, synthesis used, trauma mechanism, length of hospitalization, waiting time for surgery, associated comorbidities, hemogram on admission, type of anesthesia, need for blood transfusion, day of the week and season of the year of the fracture. Results: The study showed that higher mortality correlated with higher numbers of clinical comorbidities, longer hospitalization and use of general anesthesia during the surgery. Conclusion: There was no association between the time spent waiting for surgery and mortality.