Mortality, perioperative complications and surgical timelines in hip fracture patients: Comparison of the Spanish with the non-Spanish Cohort of the HIP ATTACK-1 trial.

BACKGROUND: Hip fractures carry a substantial risk of complications and death. This study aimed to report the 90-day incidence of mortality, major perioperative complications and in-hospital timelines after a hip fracture in the Spanish HIP ATTACK-1 trial cohort, comparing with the non-Spanish cohort. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of Spanish patients nested in the HIP ATTACK-1 trial. The HIP ATTACK-1 was an international, randomized, controlled trial (17 countries, 69 hospitals, 7 in Spain, highest recruiting country). Patients were randomized to either accelerated surgery (goal of surgery within 6 h of diagnosis) or standard care. Participants were ≥45 years of age who presented with a low-energy hip fracture requiring surgery. RESULTS: Among 534 patients in the Spanish cohort, 69 (12.9 %) patients died at 90 days follow-up, compared to 225 (9.2 %) in the non-Spanish cohort (p = 0.009), mostly due to higher nonvascular related mortality. A composite of major postoperative complication occurred in 126 patients (23.6 %). The most common perioperative complications were myocardial injury (189 patients, 35.4 %), infection with no sepsis (86 patients, 16.1 %) and perioperative delirium (84 patients, 15.7 %); all these complication rates in Spain were significantly higher than the non-Spanish patients (29.2 % p = 0.005; 11.9 % p = 0.008 and 9.2 % p < 0.0001, respectively). Spanish cohort patients were older and had more comorbidities than the non-Spanish cohort, evidencing their greater frailty at baseline. Among Spanish patients, the median time from hip fracture diagnosis to surgery was 30.0 h (IQR 21.1-53.9) in the standard-care group, with 68.8 % of patients receiving surgery within 48 h of diagnosis. This median time was lower in the non-Spanish cohort (22.8 h, IQR 9.5-37.0), where 82.1 % of patients were operated within 48 h. CONCLUSIONS: In the HIP ATTACK-1 trial, 1 in 8 patients died 90 days after a hip fracture in Spain. The most common complication after a hip fracture was myocardial injury, ...