Early surgery within 48 hours of admission for hip fracture did not improve 1-year mortality in Japan: a single-institution cohort study

Introduction: Early surgery for hip fracture, within 48 hours of hospital admission, is effective in reducing mortality. However, the average preoperative waiting time for hip fractures in Japan is 4.5 days and the 1-year mortality rate after a hip fracture is 10% in Japan. This study aimed to investigate whether early surgery, within 48 hours, could reduce the 1-year mortality rate in patients with hip fractures in Japan. Methods This cohort study involved 402 consecutive patients with hip fractures who underwent surgical treatment between January 2013 and September 2019. The exclusion criteria were an age of <60 years and in-hospital injury. A total of 389 patients were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: those who underwent early surgery within 48 hours of admission (early group) and those who di not undergo early surgery (delayed group). We compared patient characteristics and treatment outcomes between the 2 groups. Results: A comparison of patient characteristics revealed that the early group had lower hemoglobin levels (P=0.046), lower C-reactive protein levels ( P = 0.031), lower numbers of patients with weekend hospitalization, lower numbers of patients with a history of using medications that may cause bleeding ( P < 0.01), and who received general anaesthesia ( P < 0.01). However, there were no significant differences with regard to the other variables between the 2 groups. A treatment outcome analysis showed that the early group had shorter waiting times for surgery ( P < 0.01) and shorter stays in acute-care wards ( P < 0.01). However there were no differences in the total hospital stay, Barthel index at discharge, home discharge rates, in-hospital mortality rates, and 1-year mortality. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that early surgery did not reduce the 1-year mortality rate in older patients with hip fractures in Japan.