Similar mortality with general or regional anesthesia in elderly hip fracture patients

Background and purpose — There is continuing confusion among practitioners with regard to the optimal choice of anesthetic type for repair of hip fractures. We investigated whether type of anesthetic was associated with short-term mortality after hip fracture surgery. Patients and methods — We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with surgically treated hip fractures, performed between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2012. Exposure of interest was anesthesia type (general, spinal/neuroaxial, and mixed). Endpoints were 30-, 90-, and 365-day post-surgery mortality. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported. Results — Of the 7,585 participants, 5,412 (71%) were women and the median age was 80 (IQR: 72–85) years old. Of the total cohort, 4,257 (56%) received general anesthesia, 3,059 (40%) received spinal/neuroaxial, and 269 (4%) received mixed anesthesia. Overall, the incidence of 30-, 90-, and 365-day mortality was 4% (n = 307), 8% (n = 583), and 15% (n = 1,126), respectively. When compared with general anesthesia, the 365-day odds of mortality was marginally lower in patients with spinal/neuroaxial anesthesia (OR = 0.84, CI: 0.70–1.0), but it was similar in patients with mixed anesthesia (OR = 1.3, CI: 0.70–2.3). No other statistically significant differences were observed. Interpretation — Regarding mortality, this study does not support specific recommendations regarding the type of anesthetic in surgery of fractured hips.