Comparison of One-Year Mortality Rates in Patients with Peritrochantric Hip Fractures during and Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to assess and follow up on patients who had peritrochantric hip fractures during the first wave of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Iran. These patients were compared to patients from the previous year during the same period. Their prognosis and one-year mortality rates were also compared.

In this two-center, retrospective cohort study, patients aged over 60 years with a proximal femoral fracture admitted to the hospital between March 2019 and April 2020 were included. The primary outcome was one-year mortality.

The patients counted 146, and we had access to all of them. Seventy-four were from the year 2019, and 72 were from the year 2020. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding age, sex, type of fracture, or the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) score in the analytical investigation. Regarding patient mortality at this time, our one-year mortality rate in patients hospitalized before the COVID-19 era was 29.7%, compared to 51.5% in the COVID-19 period.

The one-year mortality rate for patients with hip fracture increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comorbidity and ASA score were related to mortality in this patient population. This increase in mortality may be attributable to postoperative complications, including coagulopathy and proper health care limitation.