Intensive rehabilitation after pelvic and hip fractures: a comparative retrospective study.

Purpose: Pelvic fracture (PF) is common, especially among older patients, and its prevalence increases over time. In contrast to hip fracture (HF), the literature on rehabilitation after PF is scant, mandating a study of the outcomes of rehabilitation in patients with PF. The present study compared patients who underwent intensive rehabilitation following HF or PF. Methods: A retrospective study of patients 65 years of age and older who underwent intensive rehabilitation in the Geriatrics Department. Data were collected on patients with PF, while data on patients with HF were taken from an earlier study. All patients in both groups suffered from low-energy trauma. Rehabilitation outcomes were measured using the Montebello Rehabilitation Factor Score-revised (MRSF-R). Results: 144 PF patients were compared with 138 HF patients. The mean age of the patients in the HF group was 82.5 ± 7.1 compared to 81.5 ± 6.9 in the PF group (p = 0.230). Females comprised 77.5% of the patients in the HF group and 90.3% in the PF group (p = 0.04). All patients in the HF group underwent surgical repair of their fracture, while all patients in the PF group had non-surgical treatment. More patients in the HF sample had a nursing caregiver prior to the fracture (92.0% vs. 60.4%, p < 0.001), had a higher Charlson Co-morbidity Index total score (2.1 ± 1.9 vs. 1.6 ± 1.7, p = 0.13), developed more delirium (21.7% vs. 8.3%, p = 0.16), more infections (29.0% vs. 11.1%, p < 0.002), and more cardiovascular complications (23.9% vs. 5.6%, p < 0.001) during hospitalization. They had longer hospital stays (20.9 ± 7.5 vs. 18.2 ± 7.7 days, p = 0.0007), and had a higher mortality rate (13.8% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.037) over the first year following the fracture than the PF group. A similar rate of patients in both groups (64.5% vs. 60.4%, p = 0.483) had successful intensive rehabilitation. In the PF group only cognitive state was an independent predictor of successful rehabilitation, with each additional point in the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) increasing the patient's chance of reaching an MRFS-R score ≥ 50 by 20.5%. Conclusion: Despite slightly different characteristics in the two groups, the results of intensive rehabilitation were similar. Cognitive state was the only independent factor that affected achievement of a better rehabilitation outcome. With the increasing rate of PF, more studies should focus on rehabilitation in this patient population.

Handgrip Strength as a Predictor of Successful Rehabilitation After Hip Fracture in Patients 65 Years of Age and Above.

Purpose: It is important to identify factors associated with the outcome of rehabilitation after hip fracture as an aid to planning the rehabilitation framework and the future discharge of patients. Previous studies have shown that handgrip strength (HGS) is one of the factors associated with the success of rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study among patients 65 years of age and above who underwent surgical repair of a hip fracture followed by rehabilitation in the Geriatrics ward between September 2019 and December 2021. Successful rehabilitation was determined as Montebello Rehabilitation Factor Score Revised (MRFS-R) ≥50%. Associations were assessed between various sociodemographic and clinical variables, including HGS, and rehabilitation success. HGS was tested as a continuous and dichotomous variable, in accordance with various definitions of low muscle strength. Results: Data were collected for 173 patients. The mean age was 81.2 ± 7.2 years and 68.2% were women. In a logistic regression model only HGS, as a continuous variable, was independently associated with rehabilitation success, with each increase of 1 kg increasing the chance for successful rehabilitation by 6.8%. Conclusion: HGS is a simple tool for the planning of the rehabilitation process among patients with hip fracture.

Intensive Inpatient vs. Home-Based Rehabilitation After Hip Fracture in the Elderly Population.

Background: As the population ages, the rate of hip fractures and the need for rehabilitation increases. Home-based rehabilitation (HBR) is an alternative to classic inpatient rehabilitation (IR), which is an expensive framework with non-negligible risks. Methods: A retrospective study of patients 65 years and above following surgery to repair a hip fracture who underwent HBR or IR between 2016 and 2019. The two rehabilitation frameworks were compared for rehabilitation outcome and factors predicting successful rehabilitation. The outcome was determined with the Montebello Rehabilitation Factor Score-Revised (MRFS-R). Results: Data were collected for 235 patients over 3 years. The mean age was 81.3 ± 8.0 and 172 (73.3%) were women. Of these, 138 underwent IR and 97 HBR. The HBR group had better family support and fewer lived alone. There were also differences in the type of fracture and surgery. The medical condition of the IR group was more complex, as reflected in a higher Charlson's comorbidity scores, higher rates for delirium and more infectious complications, a lower Norton score, lower serum hemoglobin, and albumin levels, and higher serum creatinine and urea levels. It also had a more significant functional decline after surgery and required a longer rehabilitation period. However, no difference was found in the rehabilitation outcomes between the two groups (MRFS-R ≥ 50). The independent predictors for rehabilitation in the IR group were serum albumin level, comorbidity, and cognitive state. There were no independent predictors in the HBR group. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, there was no significant difference in short-term rehabilitation outcomes between the HBR and IR groups event though the patients in the IR group were medically more complex. This result should be taken into account when planning rehabilitation services after hip fracture and tailoring rehabilitation frameworks to patients.

Delirium in Internal Medicine Departments in a Tertiary Hospital in Israel: Occurrence, Detection Rates, Risk Factors, and Outcomes.

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence rate of delirium among elderly hospitalized patients in the medicine wards of a large tertiary hospital, to identify risk factors, and to evaluate the diagnostic rate for delirium among the medical teams. Methods: A 3-month prospective study of patients 65 years of age and above in three medicine wards: in two wards patients were examined by trained study team members using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), while the third was a control ward where CAM was not administered. The third ward served to control for the effect of the presence of investigators in the other wards as a potential confounding factor. Based on the results of this assessment patients were defined as suffering from subsyndromal delirium, full delirium (these two groups were later combined into an "any symptoms of delirium" group), and no delirium. The rate of diagnosis by the medical team was obtained from the electronic medical records. Results: The full delirium rate was 5.1%, the rate of subsyndromal delirium was 14.6%, and the rate of any symptoms of delirium was 19.6%. Absence of a partner, pain, anemia, hyponatremia, hypocalcemia, and the use of drugs with an anticholinergic burden were factors for any symptoms of delirium as well as for subsyndromal delirium. Subsyndromal delirium and any symptoms of delirium were associated with a reduced chance of being discharged to home and a higher 3-month mortality rate. A diagnosis of delirium was found in only 19.4% of the patients with any symptoms of delirium in the medical records. Conclusions: Delirium is a common problem among elderly hospitalized patients, but it is diagnosed sub-optimally by the medical team. There is a need for further training of the medical teams and implementation of delirium assessment as part of the ward's routine.