ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To identify predictors for rehabilitation outcome in Asian geriatric hip fracture patients. METHODS: Records of 153 consecutive Asian patients aged 61 to 99 years who underwent surgery for hip fracture and were followed up for at least one year were reviewed. They were stratified into 4 agegroups: 60-69 years (n=27), 70-79 years (n=70), 80-89 years (n=50), and ≥90 years (n=6). Any comorbidity, regardless of severity, was recorded. Pre-injury and postoperative functional status was evaluated using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey. Relative functional gain (RFG) is equal to absolute functional gain (physical component summary [PCS] score at one year minus PCS score at 6 weeks) divided by the maximum potential gain (maximum PCS score minus PCS score at 6 weeks). RFG of <0.5 and ≥0.5 is defined as poor and good rehabilitation outcome, respectively. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, age 80-89 years (p=0.026), arthritis (p=0.082), and hypercholesterolaemia (p=0.014) were predictors for RFG. In multivariate analysis, age 80-89 years (p=0.016) remained a predictor for poor RFG, and hypercholesterolaemia remained a predictor for good RFG. CONCLUSION: Poor rehabilitation outcome was associated with patient age of 80-89 years; an orthogeriatric approach may be beneficial in optimising rehabilitation outcome in elderly hip fracture patients.
