Can nutritional and inflammatory indices predict 90-day mortality in fragility hip fracture patients?

Introduction: Hip fractures in the elderly are related to increased mortality. The identification of patients at risk is essential. Several nutritional and inflammatory parameters were investigated in an effort to find a prognostic indicator for mortality following fragility hip fractures (FHF) surgery. We aim to evaluate their utility and compare between the different factors.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients 65 years and older, who underwent surgery following fragility hip fractures between January 2012 and June 2020, was conducted. Patients who died within 90 days were matched at a 1:1 ratio with surviving controls, based on age, gender, fracture type, and comorbidities. Nutritional and inflammatory indices, including serum albumin, protein energy malnutrition (PEM), albumin-to-globulin ratio (AGR), prognostic nutritional index (PNI), the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the neutrophile-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), were compared between groups.

Results: 304 patients were included, 152 in each group. Patients' demographics were similar. Among all indices evaluated, only the PLR significantly differed between the study groups (236.9 ± 193.5 for the study group vs. 186.6 ± 119.3 for the control group (p = 0.007). In patients who survived the initial hospitalization, the PEM was also found to be correlated with 90 days mortality.

Discussion: The PLR was found to be correlated with mortality risk following FHF surgery. As it can be easily calculated from accessible blood tests, we recommend its' routine assessment as a screening tool for personalized management of patients at high risk for mortality.