Abstract
Introduction – Patients who have sustained a fracture of the hip should have their surgical treatment with 48 hours of admission to hospital. A delay results in increased morbidity and mortality.
This elderly cohort of patients often have confounding co-morbidities. A pre-operative echocardiographic assessment to guide the anaesthetic is frequently requested upon clinical grounds. A delay in acquiring the echocardiogram was observed thus delaying surgery. This instigated a change in policy within the department whereby all patients over 70 years old who sustained a hip fracture underwent echocardiographic assessment with 24 hours of admission.
Method: An audit was performed assessing delays in acquiring the echocardiograms and measuring the time taken to perform the operation.
Results: Period 1 – Selective Echo: Mean time to echo 5 days, mean time to theatre 7 days. Period 2 – Unselective Echo: Mean time to echo 1 day, mean time to theatre 2 days.
Conclusion: As a result of the unselective policy to perform echo cardiograms on all patients admitted with a fractured neck hip, the delay to perform surgery has been reduced significantly.
The abstracts were prepared by Mr D J Bracey, Editorial Secretary. Correspondence should be addressed to him at Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske, Cornwall TR1 3LJ, England.
