Abstract
Aims:We conducted a prospective study among elderly women with a femoral neck fracture to determine if medical care costs during the one-year period after hospital discharge differ by surgical procedure type. In addition, we analysed potential predictors of costs. Methods: The design was a one-year prospective cohort study assessing day-to-day clinical practice. Eighty-four women were enrolled. Direct costs of care were documented during the oneyear period after hospital discharge and expressed in Euro (€) per hip-fracture patient. Multiple regression analyses were performed to explore potential predictors of costs. Results: Three fracture groups were defined by the type of surgical repair. Total-hiparthroplasty patients were significantly younger than hemiarthroplasty or internal-fixation patients (median age 71, 81, and 80 years, respectively; p = 0.001). Average costs during the one-year follow up period after hospital discharge were lower after total hip arthroplasty (e 9,486) than after hemiarthroplasty (€ 12,146) or internal fixation (€ 15,687), although these trends failed to achieve the level of statistical significance (p = 0.322). A multivariate regression model identified two significant determinants of increased costs: increasing age (p = 0.023) and living in an institution at time of injury (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Direct costs of care during the one-year period after hospital discharge among elderly women with a femoral neck fracture do not depend on the type of surgical procedure. Increasing age and living in an institution at time of injury, on the other hand, are strong predictors of increased costs during the one-year period after hospital discharge.
Theses abstracts were prepared by Professor Dr. Frantz Langlais. Correspondence should be addressed to him at EFORT Central Office, Freihofstrasse 22, CH-8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland.
