Functional Outcomes of Fragility Hip Fractures During The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single Center Experience

The COVID-19 disease was declared as a Pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Provision of essential care to infected and suspect patients were prioritized in the local healthcare setting and urgent as well as elective orthopaedic surgical procedures were delayed in order to minimize hospital entry and stay of non-infected individuals. Due to mandated measures which included travel restrictions and social distancing, there has been a decrease in trauma cases all the while osteoporotic and fragility hip fracture incidence remained constant. Hip fractures in the elderly are considered as Orthopaedic emergencies which require early surgical stabilization. With the local healthcare systems focusing on providing critical care to COVID infected and suspect patients, as well as the stringent requirements prior to managing cases in the operating room, delays in management of fragility hip fracture cases have been inevitable which may lead to poorer functional outcomes. Since there is currently literature lacking with regards to the functional outcomes of elderly patients with fragility hip fractures during this COVID-19 pandemic, the aim of this study is to determine the functional outcomes of fragility hip fracture patients who were admitted at our institution during this COVID-19 pandemic period. Data will be collected from consenting elderly patients upon admission at our institution. The average time between date of admission and date of surgery, as well as the average total length of hospital stay will be computed. The incidence of delay to surgery will be determined and recorded. Premorbid functional outcome as well as post-operative functional outcome will be determined upon admission and at one, three, six-, and twelve-months post operatively using the Modified Harris Hip Score scoring system.