Predictors of Length of Hospital Stay in Elderly Hip Fracture Patients

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between prefracture characteristics and length of stay (LOS) at the authors’ institution. Three hundred eighty-nine consecutive elderly hip fracture patients’ preoperative characteristics, comorbidities, fracture type, and surgical and hospital course were retrospectively reviewed. Multiple regression was used to determine which subset of potential independent variables would be good predictors of LOS. Predictors of increased LOS included cerebral vascular disease (C1.28 days, p < .0352), chronic renal insufficiency (C1.17 days, p < .0363), and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score (C1.27 days per ASA class, p < .0005). For each increase in age by 1 year, LOS decreased by a mean of 0.085 days (p < .0041). Fracture type, prefracture mobility, or other examined comorbidities were found not to be significant predictors of LOS. Identifying high-risk patients in the preoperative period and minimizing certain perioperative events will be important to optimize care of patients who fracture their hip and to minimize future costs. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 22(2):160–163, 2013)