The Prevalence and Mortality in COVID-19 Positive Patients with Hip Fracture: a Case-Series and Literature Review

Abstract

Background: The novel coronavirus has spread rapidly worldwide, with exceptionally high mortality in the elderly. Patients with hip fracture have an average age of 80 years, with an estimated 2.8 comorbidities per patient. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hip fracture care services and the associated mortality rate. Methods: PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar databases were searched for relevant studies linked to mortality in COVID-19 patients who have undergone hip surgeries using the keywords “COVID-19” OR “SARS-cov-2” OR “Coronavirus Infections”; AND “Surgery” OR “Hip” OR “Fracture” OR “Orthopedics.” We included all patients with hip fractures but excluded pathological fractures and other non-traumatic hip pathologies 30 studies for the final review were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: 30 studies were included in the review. The overall mortality was 10.52%. There was a significant difference in the mortality rate between patients with positive and negative tests and between the operative patients who tested positive and the operative patients who tested negative. Conclusions: COVID-19-infected elderly patients with hip fractures have a higher mortality rate than non-COVID-19 infected cases. Further studies are warranted to examine the morbidity and mortality rates in COVID-19-positive patients with hip fractures and investigate how these outcomes can be improved.

Keywords

• orthopedics
• COVID-19
• orthopedic procedures
• hip
• fractures
• surgery