Hip fracture surgery patients do not suffer greater adverse outcomes if they are admitted to a hospital over the weekend, a study in The Surgeon concluded.
Here are four things to know:
1. Study authors used a prospective database to identify 1,326 patients who underwent acute hip fracture surgery. Of the total patients 368 were admitted over a weekend and 411 underwent surgery over a weekend.
2. There were no significant differences in outcomes based on the day of admission or the day of surgery.
3. Overall, 30-day mortality was 7.6 percent. Significant predictors of mortality included:
- Admission urea levels
- Age
- Admission source
- Surgical delay
- Male sex
- Previous stroke
- Acute chest infection
- Chronic liver disease
4. Study authors concluded mortality was affected by delays to surgery and patient comorbidities rather than the "weekend effect."