Background: During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in NY, hip fractures requiring operative management continued to present to Stony Brook University Hospital. Given the novelty of SARS-CoV-2, there is recent interest in the pandemic and its relationship to orthopaedic operative outcomes.
Purpose: This retrospective cohort study compared outcomes for operative hip fractures in patients prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic at a Level 1 academic center.
Methods: Data were collected from patients age 18 years or older who underwent operative management for hip fractures performed from January 21, 2019 to July 1, 2019 (pre-pandemic) and from January 21, 2020 to July 1, 2020 (pandemic). COVID-19 status, demographics, and outcomes were analyzed.
Results: Overall, 159 patients with hip fractures were included in this study, 103 in the 2019 group and 56 in the 2020 group. Within the 2019 group, there was a significantly greater proportion of female patients compared to 2020 (p=0.0128). The length of hospital stay was shorter for the 2020 group by 1.84 days (p=0.0138). COVID-19 testing was positive in 4 (7.1%) patients in the 2020 group, negative for 22 patients (39.3%), and the remaining 30 patients in the 2020 group (53.7%) were not tested during their admission. There were no other significant differences in demographics or outcomes between the 2019 and 2020 groups.
Conclusions: In this study, a significantly higher proportion of males presented with hip fractures in the pandemic group. In addition, the average length of hospital stay was shorter during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is needed to understand the nuances that may lead to improved care for patients with hip fractures during a pandemic.
