FACTORS RELTED TO DELIRIUM AND MORTALITY IN OLDER ADULTS WITH FEMUR FRACTURE ON AN ORTHOPEDIC UNIT

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To correlate the main clinical characteristics of geriatric patients hospitalized for femur fracture with delirium incidence and mortality during hospitalization. METHODS: Cross-sectional study in patients over 65 years old admitted to an orthopedics unit with femoral fracture. The authors interviewed patients and / or caregivers to investigate their clinical characteristics, and subsequently correlate their profiles to the rates of delirium and mortality. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Student’s t-test and χ2 test. Significance was established at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Participants included 90 patients with a mean age of 83 years (65–99), 77.8% women. The mean length of stay was 19.7 days, with delirium identified in 39.9% of patients, and a mortality rate of 17.8%. Delirium was significantly associated with advanced age (p = 0.046), use of psychotropic drugs — especially quetiapine — , higher mortality rate, diabetes mellitus, dementia syndrome, and low functionality. Mortality, in turn, was associated with chronic kidney disease, lower functionality, and dementia syndrome. CONCLUSION: We found that delirium was associated with advanced age, lower functionality, diabetes mellitus, dementia syndrome, higher death outcomes, and the use of psychotropic drugs; and mortality was associated to dementia syndrome, chronic kidney disease, and worse functionality.

Keywords

• geriatrics
• femoral fractures
• delirium
• mortality