Surgical complications after fixation of minimally displaced lateral compression type 1 pelvic ring injuries.

PURPOSE: To review surgical complications after fixation of stress-positive minimally displaced (< 1 cm) lateral compression type 1 (LC1) pelvic ring injuries. METHODS: A retrospective study at a level one trauma center identified patients who received surgical fixation of isolated LC1 pelvic ring injuries. Surgical complications and additional procedures were reviewed. RESULTS: Sixty patients were included. The median age was 61 years (Interquartile range 40-70), 65% (n = 39) were women, and 57% (n = 34) had high-energy mechanisms. Anterior-posterior, posterior-only, and anterior-only fixation constructs were used in 77% (n = 46), 15% (n = 9), and 8% (n = 5) of patients. Anterior fixation was performed with rami screw fixation in 82% (49/60), external fixation in 2% (1/60), and open reduction and plate fixation in 2% (1/60). There were 15 surgical complications in 23% (14/60), and 12 additional procedures in 17% (10/60). Complications included loss of reduction ≥ 1 cm (8%), symptomatic hematomas (8%), symptomatic backout of unicortical retrograde rami screws (5%), deep infection of the pelvic space after a retrograde rami screw (1.6%), and iatrogenic L5 nerve injury (1.6%). All losses of reduction involved geriatric females with distal rami fractures sustained in ground-level falls. Loss of reduction was found to be more likely in patients with low energy mechanisms (proportional difference (PD) 62%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 18% to 76%; p = 0.01) and 2 versus 1 posterior pelvic screws (PD 36%; CI 0.4% to 75%; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical complications and additional procedures routinely occurred after fixation of LC1 injuries. Patients should be appropriately counseled on the risks of surgical fixation of these controversial injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic, Level III.

Mortality and morbidity following operative management of tibial shaft fractures in octogenarians.

PURPOSE: As the geriatric population continues to grow, the incidence of tibial shaft fractures in octogenarians is projected to increase. There is significant variation in the functional and physiologic status within the geriatric population. The purpose of this study is to compare the complications following operative treatment of tibial shaft fractures for patients who are 65- to79-year-old compared to patients who are 80- to 89-year-old. METHODS: Data were collected through the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database for the years 2007-2018. All isolated tibial shaft fractures that were treated with open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) or intramedullary nail (IMN) were identified. Patients were divided into a 65- to 79-year-old group and an 80-to 89-year-old group. Primary and secondary outcomes were studied and included 30-day mortality. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with a significance set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: In total, 434 patients with tibial shaft fractures were included in the study. Of these, 333 were 65- to 79-year-old and 101 were 80- to 89-year-old (Table 1). On multivariate analysis, there was no significant difference in complication rates between the two cohorts. CONCLUSION: After controlling for demographics and comorbidities, age was not independently associated with 30-day mortality or any other peri-operative complications between patients aged 80 to 89 and patients aged 65 to 79 following operative management of tibial shaft fractures. In appropriately selected octogenarian patients, operative management of tibial shaft fractures represents a relatively safe treatment modality that may promote early rehabilitation.

Comparison of 30-day complications between reverse shoulder arthroplasty and open reduction internal fixation for the treatment of proximal humerus fractures.

PURPOSE: While the use of open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) has remained stable over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the use of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) for proximal humerus fractures (PHFs). This study sought to compare the complication profiles of RTSA to ORIF in a large, validated, retrospective cohort. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgical treatment for PHFs with RTSA or ORIF were identified in a national database (NSQIP) using CPT and ICD codes. Demographics and comorbidities were identified for each cohort of patients. Thirty-day complications were analyzed with univariate and multivariate analyses using Chi-square, Fischer's exact and analysis of variance testing. RESULTS: The total number of patients included in this study was 2157.522 (24.2%) underwent RTSA and 1635 (75.8%) underwent ORIF. Patients undergoing RTSA were older with an average age of 73.52 years compared with 63.84 years in those undergoing ORIF (p < 0.001). Patients with RTSA were more likely to experience any complications (p < 0.001), pulmonary complications (p = 0.029), extended length of stay > 3 days (p < 0.001), and perioperative transfusion requirement (p < 0.001) after univariate analysis. After controlling for demographic differences, the only statistically significant complication was perioperative transfusion requirement (OR 1.383). CONCLUSION: After controlling for demographic variables and comorbidities, RTSA placed patients at increased risk for perioperative blood transfusion. Patients undergoing RTSA should be counseled prior to surgery regarding the risk for transfusion and potentially optimized medically through multidisciplinary care if the surgeon elects to proceed with RTSA versus ORIF for the treatment of PHFs.

The Global Open Source Severity of Illness Score (GOSSIS).

OBJECTIVES: To develop and demonstrate the feasibility of a Global Open Source Severity of Illness Score (GOSSIS)-1 for critical care patients, which generalizes across healthcare systems and countries. DESIGN: A merger of several critical care multicenter cohorts derived from registry and electronic health record data. Data were split into training (70%) and test (30%) sets, using each set exclusively for development and evaluation, respectively. Missing data were imputed when not available. SETTING/PATIENTS: Two large multicenter datasets from Australia and New Zealand (Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database [ANZICS-APD]) and the United States (eICU Collaborative Research Database [eICU-CRD]) representing 249,229 and 131,051 patients, respectively. ANZICS-APD and eICU-CRD contributed data from 162 and 204 hospitals, respectively. The cohort included all ICU admissions discharged in 2014-2015, excluding patients less than 16 years old, admissions less than 6 hours, and those with a previous ICU stay. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: GOSSIS-1 uses data collected during the ICU stay's first 24 hours, including extrema values for vital signs and laboratory results, admission diagnosis, the Glasgow Coma Scale, chronic comorbidities, and admission/demographic variables. The datasets showed significant variation in admission-related variables, case-mix, and average physiologic state. Despite this heterogeneity, test set discrimination of GOSSIS-1 was high (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve [AUROC], 0.918; 95% CI, 0.915-0.921) and calibration was excellent (standardized mortality ratio [SMR], 0.986; 95% CI, 0.966-1.005; Brier score, 0.050). Performance was held within ANZICS-APD (AUROC, 0.925; SMR, 0.982; Brier score, 0.047) and eICU-CRD (AUROC, 0.904; SMR, 0.992; Brier score, 0.055). Compared with GOSSIS-1, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE)-IIIj (ANZICS-APD) and APACHE-IVa (eICU-CRD), had worse discrimination with AUROCs of 0.904 and 0.869, and poorer calibration with SMRs of 0.594 and 0.770, and Brier scores of 0.059 and 0.063, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: GOSSIS-1 is a modern, free, open-source inhospital mortality prediction algorithm for critical care patients, achieving excellent discrimination and calibration across three countries.

Does Prior Lumbar Fusion Influence Dislocation Risk in Hip Arthroplasty Performed for Femoral Neck Fracture?

BACKGROUND: Immobility of the lumbar spine predicts instability following elective total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study is to determine how prior lumbar fusion (LF) influenced dislocation rates and revision rates for patients undergoing THA or hemiarthroplasty (HA) for femoral neck fracture (FNF). METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted utilizing the PearlDiver database from 2010 to 2018. Patients who underwent arthroplasty for FNF were identified based on history of LF and whether they underwent THA or HA. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 328 patients with prior LF and FNF who underwent THA were at increased risk for 1-year dislocation (odds ratio [OR] 2.19, P < .001) and 2-year revision (OR 2.22, P < .001) compared to 14,217 patients without LF. The 461 patients with prior LF and FNF who underwent HA were at increased risk for dislocation (OR 2.22, P < .001) compared to 42,327 patients without LF. Patients with prior LF and FNF who underwent THA had higher rates of revision than patients with prior LF who underwent HA for FNF (OR 2.11, P < .001). In patients with prior LF and FNF, THA was associated with significantly increased risk for dislocation (OR 3.07, P < .001) and revision (OR 2.53, P < .001) compared to THA performed for osteoarthritis. CONCLUSION: Patients with prior LF who sustained an FNF and underwent THA or HA were at increased risk for early dislocation and revision compared to those without prior LF. This risk of dislocation and revision is even greater than that observed in patients with prior LF who underwent THA for osteoarthritis. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an independent risk factor for postoperative complications following operative treatment of distal radius fracture.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and postoperative complications for patients receiving distal radius fracture (DRF) open reduction internal fixation (ORIF). METHODS: From 2007 to 2018, patients undergoing operative treatment for distal radius fracture were identified in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Patients were separated into 2 cohorts: non-COPD and COPD patients. In this analysis, thirty-day postoperative complications evaluated included wound, cardiac, pulmonary, renal, thromboembolic, sepsis, mortality, urinary tract infections, postoperative transfusion, extended length of stay, reoperation, and readmission. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: Of 12,424 total patients who underwent operative treatment for distal radius fracture, 11,957 patients (96.2%) did not have a diagnosis of COPD and 467 (3.8%) had COPD. Following adjustment, compared to patients who did not have COPD, those with COPD had an increased risk of any postoperative complications (OR 2.160; p = 0.010), postoperative transfusion requirement (OR 17.437; p = 0.001), extended length of hospital stay greater than 3 days (OR 1.564; p = 0.038), and readmission (OR 2.515; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: COPD is an independent risk factor for any postoperative complication including transfusions, extended length of stay, and readmission for patients receiving DRF ORIF. Pulmonary evaluation would be a critical step in preoperative management and counseling of these patients before DRF ORIF.

Predicting mortality, thrombus recurrence and persistence in patients with post-acute myocardial infarction left ventricular thrombus.

Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a common complication of acute myocardial infarction and is associated with morbidity from embolic complications. Predicting which patients will develop death or persistent LVT despite anticoagulation may help clinicians identify high-risk patients. We developed a random forest (RF) model that predicts death or persistent LVT and evaluated its performance. This was a single-center retrospective cohort study in an academic tertiary center. We included 244 patients with LVT in our study. Patients who did not receive anticoagulation (n = 8) or had unknown (n = 31) outcomes were excluded. The primary outcome was a composite outcome of death, recurrent LVT and persistent LVT. We selected a total of 31 predictors collected at the point of LVT diagnosis based on clinical relevance. We compared conventional regularized logistic regression with the RF algorithm. There were 156 patients who had resolution of LVT and 88 patients who experienced the composite outcome. The RF model achieved better performance and had an AUROC of 0.700 (95% CI 0.553-0.863) on a validation dataset. The most important predictors for the composite outcome were receiving a revascularization procedure, lower visual ejection fraction (EF), higher creatinine, global wall motion abnormality, higher prothrombin time, higher body mass index, higher activated partial thromboplastin time, older age, lower lymphocyte count and higher neutrophil count. The RF model accurately identified patients with post-AMI LVT who developed the composite outcome. Further studies are needed to validate its use in clinical practice.

A Comparative Analysis of Sepsis Identification Methods in an Electronic Database.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relative validity of criteria for the identification of sepsis in an ICU database. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of adult ICU admissions from 2008 to 2012. SETTING: Tertiary teaching hospital in Boston, MA. PATIENTS: Initial admission of all adult patients to noncardiac surgical ICUs. INTERVENTIONS: Comparison of five different algorithms for retrospectively identifying sepsis, including the Sepsis-3 criteria. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: 11,791 of 23,620 ICU admissions (49.9%) met criteria for the study. Within this subgroup, 59.9% were suspected of infection on ICU admission, 75.2% of admissions had Sequential Organ Failure Assessment greater than or equal to 2, and 49.1% had both suspicion of infection and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment greater than or equal to 2 thereby meeting the Sepsis-3 criteria. The area under the receiver operator characteristic of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (0.74) for hospital mortality was consistent with previous studies of the Sepsis-3 criteria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Angus, Martin, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and explicit coding methods for identifying sepsis revealed respective sepsis incidences of 31.9%, 28.6%, 14.7%, 11.0%, and 9.0%. In-hospital mortality increased with decreasing cohort size, ranging from 30.1% (explicit codes) to 14.5% (Sepsis-3 criteria). Agreement among the criteria was acceptable (Cronbach's alpha, 0.40-0.62). CONCLUSIONS: The new organ dysfunction-based Sepsis-3 criteria have been proposed as a clinical method for identifying sepsis. These criteria identified a larger, less severely ill cohort than that identified by previously used administrative definitions. The Sepsis-3 criteria have several advantages over prior methods, including less susceptibility to coding practices changes, provision of temporal context, and possession of high construct validity. However, the Sepsis-3 criteria also present new challenges, especially when calculated retrospectively. Future studies on sepsis should recognize the differences in outcome incidence among identification methods and contextualize their findings according to the different cohorts identified.

Outcomes of Hip Arthroplasty After Failed Hip Arthroscopy: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Hip arthroscopy is increasingly being used in joint preservation surgery with clear benefits in the treatment of prearthritic conditions. A number of patients, however, will still go on to require subsequent hip arthroplasty, and at present, little evidence exists determining the impact that prior hip arthroscopy may have on the outcomes of a subsequent arthroplasty. METHODS: Using prospectively collated data, we identified 35 patients who had a hip arthroplasty (22 total hip arthroplasties and 13 hip resurfacing arthroplasties) after prior ipsilateral hip arthroscopy (cases). Cases were matched for age, gender, and prosthesis type with 70 controls (patients who received a primary arthroplasty over the same period, without prior arthroscopy). Outcome measures included range of movement, implant survival, complications, and functional outcome (Oxford Hip Score and Harris Hip Score). RESULTS: There was no demonstrable difference in improved range of motion after hip arthroplasty between the 2 groups, across any axis of movement (flexion, extension, internal/external rotation, abduction, and adduction; P = .07-.78). There was no significant difference in complication rate (P = .72). Overall 7-year implant survival was 85.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 75-95.8). There was no difference in survival between cases (87.6%; 95% CI, 73.5-100) and controls (86.3%; 95% CI, 74.6%-98.0%; P = .2). Ten of the 11 revision arthroplasties performed were due to adverse reactions to metal debris in metal-on-metal hip resurfacing arthroplasty cases (P = .01). There was no difference in improvement of functional outcome postarthroplasty between groups (P = .48-.76). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that hip arthroscopy does not adversely influence outcome of a subsequent hip arthroplasty.

Datathons and Software to Promote Reproducible Research.

BACKGROUND: Datathons facilitate collaboration between clinicians, statisticians, and data scientists in order to answer important clinical questions. Previous datathons have resulted in numerous publications of interest to the critical care community and serve as a viable model for interdisciplinary collaboration. OBJECTIVE: We report on an open-source software called Chatto that was created by members of our group, in the context of the second international Critical Care Datathon, held in September 2015. METHODS: Datathon participants formed teams to discuss potential research questions and the methods required to address them. They were provided with the Chatto suite of tools to facilitate their teamwork. Each multidisciplinary team spent the next 2 days with clinicians working alongside data scientists to write code, extract and analyze data, and reformulate their queries in real time as needed. All projects were then presented on the last day of the datathon to a panel of judges that consisted of clinicians and scientists. RESULTS: Use of Chatto was particularly effective in the datathon setting, enabling teams to reduce the time spent configuring their research environments to just a few minutes-a process that would normally take hours to days. Chatto continued to serve as a useful research tool after the conclusion of the datathon. CONCLUSIONS: This suite of tools fulfills two purposes: (1) facilitation of interdisciplinary teamwork through archiving and version control of datasets, analytical code, and team discussions, and (2) advancement of research reproducibility by functioning postpublication as an online environment in which independent investigators can rerun or modify analyses with relative ease. With the introduction of Chatto, we hope to solve a variety of challenges presented by collaborative data mining projects while improving research reproducibility.

Bridging the Health Data Divide.

Fundamental quality, safety, and cost problems have not been resolved by the increasing digitization of health care. This digitization has progressed alongside the presence of a persistent divide between clinicians, the domain experts, and the technical experts, such as data scientists. The disconnect between clinicians and data scientists translates into a waste of research and health care resources, slow uptake of innovations, and poorer outcomes than are desirable and achievable. The divide can be narrowed by creating a culture of collaboration between these two disciplines, exemplified by events such as datathons. However, in order to more fully and meaningfully bridge the divide, the infrastructure of medical education, publication, and funding processes must evolve to support and enhance a learning health care system.

The association between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and mortality in critical illness: an observational cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a biological marker that has been shown to be associated with outcomes in patients with a number of different malignancies. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between NLR and mortality in a population of adult critically ill patients. METHODS: We performed an observational cohort study of unselected intensive care unit (ICU) patients based on records in a large clinical database. We computed individual patient NLR and categorized patients by quartile of this ratio. The association of NLR quartiles and 28-day mortality was assessed using multivariable logistic regression. Secondary outcomes included mortality in the ICU, in-hospital mortality and 1-year mortality. An a priori subgroup analysis of patients with versus without sepsis was performed to assess any differences in the relationship between the NLR and outcomes in these cohorts. RESULTS: A total of 5,056 patients were included. Their 28-day mortality rate was 19%. The median age of the cohort was 65 years, and 47% were female. The median NLR for the entire cohort was 8.9 (interquartile range, 4.99 to 16.21). Following multivariable adjustments, there was a stepwise increase in mortality with increasing quartiles of NLR (first quartile: reference category; second quartile odds ratio (OR) = 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03 to 1.71; third quartile OR = 1.43; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.83; 4th quartile OR = 1.71; 95% CI, 1.35 to 2.16). A similar stepwise relationship was identified in the subgroup of patients who presented without sepsis. The NLR was not associated with 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis. Increasing quartile of NLR was statistically significantly associated with secondary outcome. CONCLUSION: The NLR is associated with outcomes in unselected critically ill patients. In patients with sepsis, there was no statistically significant relationship between NLR and mortality. Further investigation is required to increase understanding of the pathophysiology of this relationship and to validate these findings with data collected prospectively.

Where is the neck? Alpha angle measurement revisited.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The alpha angle is the most used measurement to classify concavity of the femoral head-neck junction. It is not only used for treatment decisions for hip impingement, but also in cohort studies relating hip morphology and osteoarthritis. Alpha angle measurement requires identification of the femoral neck axis, the definition of which may vary between studies. The original "3-point method" uses 1 single point to construct the femoral neck axis, whereas the "anatomic method" uses multiple points and attempts to define the true anatomic neck axis. Depending on the method used, the alpha angle may or may not account for other morphological characteristics such as head-neck offset. METHODS: We compared 2 methods of alpha angle measurement (termed "anatomic" and "3-point") in 59 cadaver femora and 83 cross-table lateral radiographs of asymptomatic subjects. Results were compared using Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: Discrepancies of up to 13 degrees were seen between the methods. The 3-point method had an "equalizing effect" by disregarding femoral head position relative to the neck: in femora with high alpha angle, it resulted in lower values than anatomic measurement, and vice versa in femora with low alpha angles. Using the anatomic method, we derived a reference interval for the alpha angle in normal hips in the general population of 30-66 degrees. INTERPRETATION: We recommend the anatomic method because it also reflects the position of the femoral head on the neck. Consensus and standardization of technique of alpha angle measurement is warranted, not only for planar measurements but also for CT or MRI-based measurements.

Deep neural networks detect regional wall motion abnormalities and preclinical cardiovascular disease from 12-lead ECGs.

Background: Identifying regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMAs) is critical for diagnosing and risk stratifying patients with cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic heart disease. We hypothesized that a deep neural network could accurately identify patients with regional wall motion abnormalities from a readily available standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Methods: This observational, retrospective study included patients who were treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and had an ECG and echocardiogram performed within 14 days of each other between 2008 and 2019. We trained a convolutional neural network to detect the presence of RWMAs, qualitative global right ventricular (RV) hypokinesis, and varying degrees of left ventricular dysfunction (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≤50%, LVEF ≤40%, and LVEF ≤35%) identified by echocardiography, using ECG data alone. Patients were randomly split into development (80%) and test sets (20%). Model performance was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for age and sex were performed to estimate the risk of future acute coronary events. Results: The development set consisted of 19,837 patients (mean age 66.7±16.4; 46.7% female) and the test set comprised of 4,953 patients (mean age 67.5±15.8 years; 46.5% female). On the test dataset, the model accurately identified the presence of RWMA, RV hypokinesis, LVEF ≤50%, LVEF ≤40%, and LVEF ≤35% with AUCs of 0.87 (95% CI 0.858-0.882), 0.888 (95% CI 0.878-0.899), 0.923 (95% CI 0.914-0.933), 0.93 (95% CI 0.921-0.939), and 0.876 (95% CI 0.858-0.896), respectively. Among patients with normal biventricular function at the time of the index ECG, those classified as having RMWA by the model were 3 times the risk (age- and sex-adjusted hazard ratio, 2.8; 95% CI 1.9-3.9) for future acute coronary events compared to those classified as negative. Conclusions: We demonstrate that a deep neural network can help identify regional wall motion abnormalities and reduced LV function from a 12-lead ECG and could potentially be used as a screening tool for triaging patients who need either initial or repeat echocardiographic imaging.

INSPIRE, a publicly available research dataset for perioperative medicine.

We present the INSPIRE dataset, a publicly available research dataset in perioperative medicine, which includes approximately 130,000 surgical operations at an academic institution in South Korea over a ten-year period between 2011 and 2020. This comprehensive dataset includes patient characteristics such as age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification, diagnosis, surgical procedure code, department, and type of anaesthesia. The dataset also includes vital signs in the operating theatre, general wards, and intensive care units (ICUs), laboratory results from six months before admission to six months after discharge, and medication during hospitalisation. Complications include total hospital and ICU length of stay and in-hospital death. We hope this dataset will inspire collaborative research and development in perioperative medicine and serve as a reproducible external validation dataset to improve surgical outcomes.

End-of-life cell cycle arrest contributes to stochasticity of yeast replicative aging.

There is growing evidence that stochastic events play an important role in determining individual longevity. Studies in model organisms have demonstrated that genetically identical populations maintained under apparently equivalent environmental conditions display individual variation in life span that can be modeled by the Gompertz-Makeham law of mortality. Here, we report that within genetically identical haploid and diploid wild-type populations, shorter-lived cells tend to arrest in a budded state, while cells that arrest in an unbudded state are significantly longer-lived. This relationship is particularly notable in diploid BY4743 cells, where mother cells that arrest in a budded state have a shorter mean life span (25.6 vs. 35.6) and larger coefficient of variance with respect to individual life span (0.42 vs. 0.32) than cells that arrest in an unbudded state. Mutations that cause genomic instability tend to shorten life span and increase the proportion of the population that arrest in a budded state. These observations suggest that randomly occurring damage may contribute to stochasticity during replicative aging by causing a subset of the population to terminally arrest prematurely in the S or G2 phase of the cell cycle.

Timing and safety of hip fracture surgery in patients on direct-acting oral anticoagulants.

Background: Many geriatric patients presenting for emergency hip fracture surgery are on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) most of which are not easily reversible. A safe policy was required to reduce delays to surgery. Prior to institution of our hospital's protocol in January 2021, most of these patients had surgery after 48 h following the last dose of DOAC due to concerns about increased perioperative blood loss. Methods: This was a prospective closed loop audit of the protocol-surgery within 24 h from last dose of DOAC (if creatinine clearance >50 ml/min) with administration of 1-g of tranexamic acid at anesthesia induction. 131 eligible patients (DOAC, n = 22; no anticoagulation, n = 109) between January-June 2021 who had emergency hip fracture surgery were identified. Primary outcome measures were peri-operative blood loss, transfusion requirements and policy compliance. Secondary outcome measures were 30-day mortality, thrombotic complications and wound bleeding. Results: Compliance with surgical timing and tranexamic acid administration were 55% and 81% respectively after the second audit cycle. The mean estimated blood loss (EBL) in the DOAC group versus the non-anticoagulated control group was 500 ml and 330 ml respectively. The difference between these groups was statistically significant at an alpha level of 5% (P = 0.0115, 95% CI 38.48-299.16). The difference for intra-operative (RR 3.43; 95% CI 1.68-7.01) and post-operative blood transfusion (RR 2.10; 95% CI 1.23-3.58) for the 2 groups was also statistically significant. However, there was no case of massive blood transfusion in both groups. The DOAC group had a lower risk for 30-day mortality (RR 0.71; 95% CI 0.09-5.46). There was no major thrombotic complication in the DOAC group. Conclusion: This audit has shown that this protocol is safe although clinicians should anticipate some degree of increased intra-operative blood loss. We will recommend continuation of this policy with sustained safety monitoring in order to reduce delays to surgery.