OrthoSpineNews reports on the findings of an HSS study co-authored by Drake LeBrun, MD, MPH, published in The Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, which found geriatric hip fracture patients with concomitant COVID-19 had higher rates of inpatient mortality compared to those without COVID-19.

Dr. LeBrun and researchers evaluated data from HSS and NewYork-Presbyterian Queens, involving 59 consecutive hip fracture patients (average age 85 years, range: 65–100 years) treated over a 5-week period (March 20, 2020, to April 24, 2020), to better understand how hip fracture patients treated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in NYC have fared. Of the 59 patients, 10 (15 percent) tested positive for COVID-19 or were presumed positive, 40 (68 percent) tested negative, and 9 (15 percent) were not tested in the primary hospitalization.

Dr. LeBrun noted, “We found that geriatric hip fracture patients with concomitant COVID-19 had higher rates of inpatient mortality compared to those without COVID-19. What was partly surprising about this finding is that although 5 of 9 patients with concomitant COVID-19 expired, 4 of 9 had few, if any, symptoms related to COVID-19 and had an otherwise unremarkable hospital course.” He added, “Our study found that patients who sustained a hip fracture and had concomitant COVID-19 infection were more likely to expire during their hospitalization. Relative to patients who did not have COVID-19, those with concomitant COVID-19 infection were also more likely to be have low oxygen levels postoperatively, develop pneumonia, and require ICU admission during their hospitalization.”

Read the full article at OrthoSpineNews.com.