The economic impact of medical complications in geriatric patients with hip fracture

The records of 510 elderly patients with hip fractures admitted to our institution between Janyary 1995 and December 2000 were retrospectively reviewed to determine the incidence and type of developed medical complications, most frequently electrolyte imbalance (11%), urinary tract infection (10%), respiratory failure (10%), and delirium (9%). Patients who developed medical complications had significantly longer mean hospital stays (10 days) and higher mean hospital costs ($16,203) than patients without such complications (5 days and $10,284, respectively) (P<.001).