Geriatric fracture centre vs usual care after proximal femur fracture in older patients: what are the benefits? Results of a large international prospective multicentre study

Exploring geriatric trauma unit experiences through patients' eyes: a qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

The surgical management of older patients is complex due to age-related underlying comorbidities and decreased physiological reserves. Comanaged care models, such as the Geriatric Trauma Unit, are proven effective in treating the complex needs of patients with fall-related injuries. While patient-centered care is an important feature of these comanaged care models, there has been minimal research dedicated to investigating the patient experience within Geriatric Trauma Units. Therefore, it remains uncertain whether the Geriatric Trauma Unit's emphasis on a patient-centered approach truly manifests in these interactions. This study explores how patients with fall-related injuries admitted to a Geriatric Trauma Unit perceive and experience patient-centered care during hospitalization.

METHODS

This qualitative generic study was conducted in three teaching hospitals that integrated the principles of comanaged care in trauma care for older patients. Between January 2021 and May 2022, 21 patients were interviewed.

RESULTS

The findings highlight the formidable challenges that older patients encounter during their treatment for fall-related injuries, which often signify a loss of independence and personal autonomy. The findings revealed a gap in the consistent and continuous implementation of patient-centered care, with many healthcare professionals still viewing patients mainly through the lens of their injuries, rather than as individuals with distinct healthcare needs. Although focusing on fracture-specific care and physical rehabilitation aligns with some patient preferences, overlooking broader needs undermines the comprehensive approach to care in the Geriatric Trauma Unit.

CONCLUSION

Effective patient-centered care in Geriatric Trauma Units requires full adherence to its core elements: patient engagement, strong patient-provider relationships, and a patient-focused environment. This study shows that deviations from these principles can undermine care, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach that extends beyond treating immediate medical conditions.

Geriatric proximal femur fracture updates

Proximal femur fractures in the aging population present a variety of challenges. Physiologically, patients incurring this fracture are typically frail, with significant medical comorbidities, yet require early surgical treatment to restore mobility to prevent deterioration. Socioeconomically, the occurrence of a fragility fracture may be the beginning of the loss of independence, and the burdens of rehabilitation and support are borne by the individual patient and health care systems.

Contextual Determinants of Time to Surgery for Patients With Hip Fracture

Importance

Surgery within 24 hours after a hip fracture improves patient morbidity and mortality, which has led some hospitals to launch quality improvement programs (eg, targeted resource management, documented protocols) to address delays. However, these programs have had mixed results in terms of decreased time to surgery (TTS), identifying an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of interventions.

Objective

To identify the contextual determinants (site-specific barriers and facilitators) of TTS for patients with hip fracture across diverse hospitals.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This qualitative mixed-methods study used an exploratory sequential design that comprised 2 phases. In phase 1, qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in hip fracture care (orthopedic surgeons or residents, emergency medicine physicians, hospitalists, anesthesiologists, nurses, and clinical or support staff) at 4 hospitals with differing financial, operational, and educational structures. Interviews were completed between May and July 2021. In phase 2, a quantitative survey assessing contextual determinants of TTS within 24 hours for adult patients with hip fracture was completed by orthopedic surgeon leaders representing 23 diverse hospitals across the US between May and July 2022. Data analysis was performed in August 2022.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Thematic analysis of the interviews identified themes of contextual determinants of TTS within 24 hours for patients with hip fracture. The emergent contextual determinants were then measured across multiple hospitals, and frequency and distribution were used to assess associations between determinants and various hospital characteristics (eg, setting, number of beds).

Results

A total of 34 stakeholders were interviewed in phase 1, and 23 surveys were completed in phase 2. More than half of respondents in both phases were men (19 [56%] and 18 [78%], respectively). The following 4 themes of contextual determinants of TTS within 24 hours were identified: availability, care coordination, improvement climate, and incentive structure. Within these themes, the most commonly identified determinants across the various hospitals involved operating room availability, a formal comanagement system between orthopedics and medicine or geriatrics, the presence of a physician champion focused on timely surgery, and a program that facilitates improvement work.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this study, contextual determinants of TTS within 24 hours for patients with hip fracture varied across hospital sites and could not be generalized across various hospital contexts because no 2 sites had identical profiles. As such, these findings suggest that guidance on strategies for improving TTS should be based on the contextual determinants unique to each hospital.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of the Geriatric Fracture Center (GFC) concept: a prospective multicentre cohort study

INTRODUCTION

Geriatric Fracture Centers (GFCs) are dedicated treatment units where care is tailored towards elderly patients who have suffered fragility fractures. The primary objective of this economic analysis was to determine the cost-utility of GFCs compared with usual care centres.

METHODS

The primary analysis was a cost-utility analysis that measured the cost per incremental quality-adjusted life-year gained from treatment of hip fracture in GFCs compared with treatment in usual care centres from the societal perspective over a 1-year time horizon. The secondary analysis was a cost-utility analysis from a societal perspective over a lifetime time horizon. We evaluated these outcomes using a cost-utility analysis using data from a large multicentre prospective cohort study comparing GFCs versus usual care centres that took place in Austria, Spain, the USA, the Netherlands, Thailand and Singapore.

RESULTS

GFCs may be cost-effective in the long term, while providing a more comprehensive care plan. Patients in usual care centre group were slightly older and had fewer comorbidities. For the 1-year analysis, the costs per patient were slightly lower in the GFC group (-$646.42), while the quality-adjusted life-years were higher in the usual care centre group (+0.034). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $18 863.34 (US$/quality-adjusted life-year). The lifetime horizon analysis found that the costs per patient were lower in the GFC group (-$7210.35), while the quality-adjusted life-years were higher in the usual care centre group (+0.02). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $320 678.77 (US$/quality-adjusted life-year).

CONCLUSIONS

This analysis found that GFCs were associated with lower costs compared with usual care centres. The cost-savings were greater when the lifetime time horizon was considered. This comprehensive cost-effectiveness analysis, using data from an international prospective cohort study, found that GFC may be cost-effective in the long term, while providing a more comprehensive care plan. A greater number of major adverse events were reported at GFC, nevertheless a lower mortality rate associated with these adverse events at GFC. Due to the minor utility benefits, which may be a result of greater adverse event detection within the GFC group and much greater costs of usual care centres, the GFC may be cost-effective due to the large cost-savings it demonstrated over the lifetime time horizon, while potentially identifying and treating adverse events more effectively. These findings suggest that the GFC may be a cost-effective option over the lifetime of a geriatric patient with hip fracture, although future research is needed to further validate these findings.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Economic, level 2.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02297581.

Long-term Outcomes in Orthogeriatric Co-management: a Literature Review

Fragility fractures of the hip are one of the most important triggers of poor health outcomes in older adults. They often result in limitations in the ability of patients to care for themselves and mortality remains high. Orthogeriatric co-management may improve outcomes for this high-risk population. However, the impact on long-term results has not yet been definitively clarified. The purpose of this study was to present the influence of orthogeriatric co-management on mortality and self-care ability, as measured by the Barthel score, one year after hip fracture in people ≥ 60 years.A systematic literature search was performed in accordance with the process steps of identification, selection, and evaluation, with a systematic search of the MEDLINE, CINAHL Complete and Cochrane Library databases in the period from February to March 2022. Articles in English and German published between 2012 and 2022 were included. Twelve studies were finally used.Six studies demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the one-year mortality rate. Only one of four studies evaluating self-care ability showed a significant improvement when the patient was treated on a specialised ward.Orthogeriatric co-management seems to be beneficial in positively influencing one-year mortality and self-care ability. In view of the heterogeneous results, the implementation of this care model can only be recommended to a limited extent.

Evaluation of Systemwide Improvement Programs to Optimize Time to Surgery for Patients With Hip Fractures: A Systematic Review

IMPORTANCE

Longer time to surgery (TTS) for hip fractures has been associated with higher rates of postoperative complications and mortality. Given that more than 300 000 adults are hospitalized for hip fractures in the United States each year, various improvement programs have been implemented to reduce TTS with variable results, attributed to contextual patient- and system-level factors.

OBJECTIVE

To catalog TTS improvement programs, identify their results, and categorize program strategies according to Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC), highlighting components of successful improvement programs within their associated contexts and seeking to guide health care systems in implementing programs designed to reduce TTS.

EVIDENCE REVIEW

A systematic review was conducted per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guideline. Three databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Trials) were searched for studies published between 2000 and 2021 that reported on improvement programs for hip fracture TTS. Observational studies in high-income country settings, including patients with surgical, low-impact, nonpathological hip fractures aged 50 years or older, were considered for review. Improvement programs were assessed for their association with decreased TTS, and ERIC strategies were matched to improvement program components.

FINDINGS

Preliminary literature searches yielded 1683 articles, of which 69 articles were included for final analysis. Among the 69 improvement programs, 49 were associated with significantly decreased TTS, and 20 programs did not report significant decreases in TTS. Among 49 successful improvement programs, the 5 most common ERIC strategies were (1) assess for readiness and identify barriers and facilitators, (2) develop a formal implementation blueprint, (3) identify and prepare champions, (4) promote network weaving, and (5) develop resource-sharing agreements.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this systematic review, certain components (eg, identifying barriers and facilitators to program implementation, developing a formal implementation blueprint, preparing intervention champions) are common among improvement programs that were associated with reducing TTS and may inform the approach of hospital systems developing similar programs. Other strategies had mixed results, suggesting local contextual factors (eg, operating room availability) may affect their success. To contextualize the success of a given improvement program across different clinical settings, subsequent investigation must elucidate the association between interventional success and facility-level factors influencing TTS, such as hospital census and type, teaching status, annual surgical volume, and other factors.

Overview of fracture liaison services in the UK and Europe: standards, model of care, funding, and challenges

Fragility fractures represent a growing global problem, including in the United Kingdom and European countries. Reports demonstrate the benefits of national guidance and organized fragility fracture programs through fracture liaison services to deliver care to patients who sustain these injuries. The challenge of assembling multidisciplinary teams, providing routine screening of appropriate patients, and monitoring therapies where there is a known compliance problem, remains an obstacle to the success of fragility fracture treatment programs to all. Efforts should continue to introduce and maintain fracture liaison services through coordinated national approaches and advanced systems.

In-Hospital Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Fragility Fractures of the Lumbar Spine, Thoracic Spine, and Pelvic Ring: A Comparison of Data before and after Certification as a DGU® Geriatric Trauma Centre

Background and Objectives: The implementation of orthogeriatric co-management (OGCM) reflects the demand for interdisciplinary collaborations due to the increasing comorbidities of geriatric trauma patients. This study aimed to assess clinical in-hospital outcomes in lumbar spine, thoracic spine, and pelvic ring fragility fracture patients before and after the implementation of a Geriatric Trauma Centre (GTC) certified by the German Trauma Society (DGU^®). Materials and Methods: In this observational, retrospective cohort study, geriatric trauma patients (>70 years of age) were stratified into either a pre-GTC group (hospital admission between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2013) or a post-GTC group (hospital admission between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2018). Patients’ pre-injury medical complexity was measured by ASA class (American Society of Anaesthesiologists classification), the use of anticoagulant medication, and the ACCI (Age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index). Outcome parameters were patients’ in-hospital length of stay (LOS) and mortality rates, as well as new in-hospital findings and diagnoses. Further, the necessity of deviation from initial management plans due to complications was assessed using the Adapted Clavien–Dindo Scoring System in Trauma (ACDiT score of ≥1). Results: Patients in the post-GTC group (n = 111) were older (median age 82.0 years) compared to the pre-GTC group (n = 108, median age 80.0 years, p = 0.016). No differences were found in sex, body mass index, ASA class, or ACCI (all p > 0.05). Patients in the post-GTC group used vitamin K antagonists or direct oral anticoagulants more frequently (21.3% versus 10.8%). The incidence of non-surgical treatment and mortality was comparable between groups, while LOS tended to be shorter in the post-GTC group (7.0 days versus 9.0 days, p = 0.076). In the post-GTC group, the detection of urinary tract infections (UTI) increased (35.2% versus 16.2%, p = 0.001), and the delirium diagnoses tended to increase (13.0% versus 6.3%, p = 0.094), while an ACDiT score of ≥1 was comparable between groups (p = 0.169). Conclusions: In this study including lumbar spine, thoracic spine, and pelvic ring geriatric fragility fractures, patients in the post-GTC group were more medically complex. More UTIs and the tendency for increased delirium detection was observed in the post-GTC group, likely due to improved diagnostic testing. Nonetheless, the necessity of deviation from initial management plans (ACDiT score of ≥1) was comparable between groups, potentially a positive result of OGCM.