Impact of orthogeriatric care management by orthopedic surgeons and physicians on in-hospital clinical outcomes: A difference-in-difference analysis.

AIM: The orthopedic surgery unit in our suburb serves a large elderly trauma population in addition to providing elective surgeries. As patients with hip fractures have become older and at higher risk of medical complications, our hospital has initiated integrated co-management of these patients by orthopedic surgeons and geriatricians from the point of hospital admission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the hospital policy change on hip fracture management and clinical outcome indicators. METHODS: Using the difference-in-difference approach, in total, 288 consecutive patients with hip fractures treated during the 1 year before and 2 years after transition to orthogeriatric care from a geriatric consultation model to integrated orthogeriatric care model were compared with 576 patients from other local hospitals. RESULTS: Despite a seasonal trend toward increased length of hospital stay in winter, the intervention significantly reduced the change in mean length of stay (mean difference [95% confidence interval], -12.9 days [-21.5 to -4.3]; P = 0.007) and discharge to home tended to change less frequently (-12.6%; P = 0.10). There was no significant reduction in mean time to surgery (-0.2 days; P = 0.83), mortality (-0.8%; P = 0.62), or complications (-1.0%; P = 0.85). CONCLUSIONS: Changing our hip fracture service from a geriatric consultation model of care to an integrated orthogeriatric model significantly reduced length of hospital stay probably due to a lower chance of discharge to home. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Japan to compare two orthogeriatric care models considering the nationwide improvement in hip fracture management. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 138-144.

Validation of a prospective mortality prediction score for hip fracture patients.

PURPOSE: Although mortality prediction tools are the subject of significant interest as components of comprehensive hip fracture protocols, few have been applied or validated to prospectively inform ongoing patient management. Five regional hospitals are currently generating real-time mortality risk scores for all adults at the time of admission using available laboratory and comorbidity data (Cowen et al. J Hosp Med 9(11):720-726, 2014). Although results for aggregated conditions have been published, the primary aim of this study is to determine how well prospectively calculated scores predict mortality for hip fracture patients specifically. METHODS: Using a five-hospital database, 1376 patients who were prospectively scored on admission were identified from January 2013 to April 2017, cross-referencing ICD9/10 diagnosis and procedure codes for AO/OTA 31A1 through 31B3 fractures. Prospective mortality scores have been previously divided into 5 risk categories to facilitate ease of clinical use. Vital status was determined from hospital data, Social Security and Michigan Death Indices. RESULTS: Prospective scores demonstrated good mortality prediction, with AUCs of 0.80, 0.73, 0.74 and 0.74 for in hospital, 30-, 60- and 90-day mortality, respectively. Patients in the top 2 mortality risk categories represented 30% (410/1376) of the cohort and accounted for 78% (25/32) of the inpatient and 59% (57/97) of the 30 day deaths. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of this real-time mortality risk tool is feasible and valid for the prediction of short- to medium-term mortality risk for hip fracture patients, and potentially offers valuable information to guide ongoing patient management decisions such as admitting service or level of care.

Optimization of perioperative management of proximal femoral fracture in the elderly.

Proximal femoral fracture in elderly subjects is a major event that is life-threatening in the medium-to-long term. Advanced age, male gender and number of comorbidities largely account for high mortality and require geriatric expertise. Protein-energy malnutrition and bone demineralization increase mortality. Mortality can, on the other hand, be reduced by acting on two variables accessible to medical intervention: daily activities and nutritional status. Functional and neurocognitive assessment allow the risk of dependency to be evaluated, and global geriatric work-up can prevent sudden breakdown of homeostasis. In the emergency setting, pain is to be alleviated, polymedication and anticoagulation therapy checked, and instability (notably cardiac and pulmonary) and confusion syndrome screened for on geriatric and anesthesiologic opinions. Surgery should be implemented without delay, within 48hours of admission, preferably using multimodal anesthesia. The technique should be geared to allow early weight-bearing and mobilization. The most comprehensive care plan involves team-work between emergency physicians, surgeons, orthopedic specialists, anesthesiologists, geriatricians, pharmacists, rehabilitation specialists and nursing staff, to reduce mortality and readmission and improve functional results. Post-fracture coordination seeks to prevent falls and further fractures and to treat bone demineralization.

Wholistic orthopedics: Is this the right way to treat geriatric orthopedic patients?

Geriatric orthopedic problems poses different challenges in their management. Conventional treatment methods like drugs, physiotherapy and surgeries are inadequate. A Geriatric orthopedic patient suffers as a whole and not in isolation. This article highlights the importance of managing geriatric orthopedic patients as a whole and outlines the various steps of wholistic management.

Redefining the Economics of Geriatric Orthopedics.

INTRODUCTION: The heath care system in the United States is in the midst of a transition, in large part to help accommodate an older and more medically complex population. Central to the current evolution is the reassessment of value based on the cost utility of a particular procedure compared to alternatives. The existing contribution of geriatric orthopedics to the societal burden of disease is substantial, and literature focusing on the economic value of treating elderly populations with musculoskeletal injuries is growing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature review of peer-reviewed publications and abstracts related to the cost-effectiveness of treating geriatric patients with orthopedic injuries was carried out. RESULTS: In our review, we demonstrate that while cost-utility studies generally demonstrate net society savings for most orthopedic procedures, geriatric populations often contribute to negative net society savings due to decreased working years and lower salaries while in the workforce. However, the incremental cost-effective ratio for operative intervention has been shown to be below the financial willingness to treat threshold for common procedures including joint replacement surgery of the knee (ICER US$8551), hip (ICER US$17 115), and shoulder (CE US$957) as well as for spinal procedures and repair of torn rotator cuffs (ICER US$12 024). We also discuss the current trends directed toward improving institutional value and highlight important complementary next steps to help overcome the growing demands of an older, more active society. CONCLUSION: The geriatric population places a significant burden on the health care system. However, studies have shown that treating this demographic for orthopedic-related injuries is cost effective and profitable for providers under certain scenarios.

Application of clinical pathway in geriatric orthopaedics clinical teaching / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective To investigate the efficacy of the clinical pathway in geriatric orthope-dics clinical teaching. Methods From March 2010 to December 2011, 80 clinical undergraduates, who practiced in the Department of Orthopedics in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medi-cal University, were equally randomized divided into two groups. One group was taught by the con-ventional methods and the other group was taught by the clinical pathway teaching. After the teaching, the theoretical exam and operational skill test were performed among students in both groups. SPSS 17.0 software was employed and the scores before and after the teaching and scores between two groups was analyzed by paired t-test(inspection level α=0.05). Results There was no significant difference in average scores between two groups before teaching(theoretical exam: P=0.81, operating skill test:P=0.65) while significant increases were observed in scores of theoretical exam and operational skill test after teaching (theoretical exam and operating skill test: P<0.05) and clinical pathway teaching group had higher scores than conventional teaching group (theoretical exam and operating skill test:P=0.02 and P=0.01). Conclusions Better effects can be achieved by clinical pathway approach re-garding geriatric orthopedics teaching.

An Analysis of the Admitted Geriatric Orthopedic Patients Over the Age of 70 / 대한정형외과학회잡지

The geriatric population tends to increase, worldwidely, and the same in orthopedic fields. In this age group, senile changes, both physical and mental, appear. In addition, psychiatric problems due to retirement from the job and changes of the role in his society and in the family, are included. The geriatric orthopedics is peculiar and its importance is increasing, which makes great demands on both medical and surgical skills as well as an enthusiastic teamwork. Fifty six patients over the age of 70, who were admitted and treated at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, between 1986 to 1987, were analysed. The results were as follows. 1. Thirth four patiens were female and twenty two were male. 2. The fracture was the most common cause, and degenerative arthritis, tumor are the next causes. 3. Operation was performed in 38 cases. 4. The associated diseases were hypertension, diabetes, U.T.I., renal failure, poor sight, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, which were more common than other age group. 5. Intra or postoperative complications were hypertension, liver function abnormalities, renal and respiratory failures and et al., which were also more common. 6. Old age is a major risk factor for surgery, but is not a contraindication, so careful evaluation and managements are needed, which can be done by specialized geriatric orthopedic team.