Multidisciplinary team for treatment of hip fracture in the elderly

Objective To explore multidisciplinary team (MDT) for the treatment of hip fracture in the elderly. Methods A retrospective analysis was done of the 196 elderly patients who had been admitted to Department of Joint Surgery, Beijing Shijitan Hospital from September 2017 to December 2018 for hip fractures. They were divided into 2 groups depending on whether MDT had been applied or not. In the MDT group of 102 patients, there were 43 males and 59 females with an age of 81.9±8.4 years, and 63 femoral neck fractures and 39 intertrochanteric fractures. In the traditional treatment group of 94 patients, there were 37 males and 57 females with an age of 81.3±8.6 years, and 55 femoral neck fractures and 39 intertrochanteric fractures. The 2 groups were compared in terms of complications and mortality during hospitalization, interval from admission to surgery, total hospital stay, and Harris hip scores at 6 months after surgery. Results There were no statistically significant differences in general data before surgery between the 2 groups, indicating comparability (P>0.05). Eighty-four patients (89.4%) in the traditional treatment group and 98 patients (96.1%) in the MDT group underwent surgery, showing no significant difference between the groups (χ2=3.327, P=0.068). In the patients undergoing surgery in the MDT group, the incidences of postoperative delirium [12.2% (12/98)], pulmonary infection [11.2% (11/98)], cardiogenic disease [13.3%(13/98)], electrolyte disturbance[12.2%(12/98)] and deep venous thrombosis of lower extremity [6.1% (6/98)] were significantly lower, the interval from admission to surgery (1.9 d±0.9 d) and total hospital stay (10.2 d±0.9 d) significantly shorter, and Harris hip scores (81.3±6.2) at 6 months after surgery significantly higher than those in the patients undergoing surgery in the traditional treatment group [31.0%(26/84), 22.6% (19/84), 25.0% (21/84), 28.6% (24/84), 16.7%(14/84); 3.1 d±1.6 d and 14.1 d±6.2 d; 75.4±7.8; respectively] (all P<0.05). Conclusion In the treatment of hip fracture in the elderly, multidisciplinary team is effective in reducing complications during hospitalization, shortening the interval from admission to surgery and total hospital stay, and promoting functional recovery of the hip. Key words: Hip fractures; Fracture fixation, intramedullary; Bone nails; Arthroplasty, replacement, hip; Multidisciplinary team