Prognostic Factors Predicting Early Recovery of Pre-fracture Functional Mobility in Elderly Patients With Hip Fracture

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic factors predicting the recovery of pre-fracture functional mobility, we evaluated this by the use of ambulatory assistive devices in short-term follow-up. METHODS: Five hundred and fifty-three elderly patients who had undergone hip fracture operations from January 2006 to June 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Clinical characteristics and predicted factors affecting functional recovery, such as the delay of rehabilitation after the operation, were reviewed. The functional status of the gait was classified as either a bedridden state, wheelchair-bound state, walker gait, single cane gait, and self-gait without any ambulatory assistance device. When this functional grade in patients who recovered after the surgery was compared to before the surgery, this state was considered 'functional recovery'. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-two patients (34.7%) showed recovery of preoperative mobility in the first month after their operation. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified that the following four factors were significantly associated with a deterioration of functional recovery: old age (odds ratio [OR], 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-0.97), delays in rehabilitation after operation (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98), the presence of cognitive dysfunction (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.18-0.71), and trochanteric fracturing (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36-0.94). CONCLUSION: We found that old age, cognitive dysfunction, trochanteric fracture type, and delay of rehabilitation were associated with the deterioration of functional recovery after a hip fracture operation in the short-term. Therefore, early rehabilitation was required to acquire functional recovery after a hip fracture operation in the short-term.