Survival of nonagenarian patients with hip fractures: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE:The objective of this study was to assess survival and factors that may influence survival in nonagenarians with hip fracture. METHODS:We retrospectively analyzed 134 nonagenarian patients admitted for hip fractures over a period of 9 years, and reviewed medical records and survival data from the National Population Register. The analysis included demographic data, ASA score, surgical delay, type of treatment, and mortality. RESULTS:Mean patient age was 92.53 years (range 90-103 years). Of the total, 35.8% of the fractures involved the femoral neck and 64.2% were in the trochanteric region. Overall mortality was 18.7% at 30 days, and 9% at one year. Mean survival for the entire sample was 683±78.1 days, with a median of 339 days; survival in men and women was 595±136.8 days and 734±94.6 days, respectively. We found that type of fracture (p=0.026) and ASA score (p=0.004) were the main factors influencing survival. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with extracapsular fractures treated by internal fixation had a better survival rate (p=0.047). There was no significant differences between sexes (p = 0.102) or diagnosis (p = 0.537). CONCLUSION:Although nonagenarian patients have numerous comorbidities, surgical treatment using internal fixation seems superior to a conservative approach. Level of Evidence III, Retrospective Comparative Study.