A 3-year retrospective analysis of patients admitted with clinical vertebral fragility fractures across hospitals in England, UK

SUMMARY: Our database aimed to assess the impact of vertebral fragility fractures (VFFs) on hospitalisation in England. The results showed that admissions secondary to VFF are increasing annually, more significantly in patients aged 75 years and over. Vertebral augmentation has been showed to reduce length of stay in hospital. INTRODUCTION: Vertebral fragility fractures (VFFs) are the most common osteoporotic fracture. VFF can result in significant pain requiring hospitalisation. However, there are little data on patient numbers, hospital bed days, and costs, contributed to by these patients. METHODOLOGY: We report a retrospective analysis of patients aged 55 years and over admitted to hospitals across England from 2017 to 2019. ICD-10 classifications for VFF and OPCS codes were used to identify admissions and patients who had undergone vertebral augmentation (VA). RESULTS: There were 99,370 patients (61% female) admitted during this period, with 64,370 (65%) patients aged over 75 years. There was a 14.3% average increase in admissions annually. Patients aged over 75 years accounted for 1.5 million bed days, costing £465 million (median length of stay (MLOS) 14.4 days). In comparison, those aged 55–74 years, accounted for 659,000 bed days, costing £239 million (MLOS 10.7 days). The majority of patients (84%) were admitted under a non-surgical speciality and were primarily older (median age 76.8 vs 67.6 years, MLOS 8.2 vs 6.0 days), compared to those admitted to surgical wards 1755 patients underwent vertebral augmentation (VA) (1.8% of the total cohort). The median age of patients undergoing VA was 73.3 years, with 775 (44.2%) of these were aged 75 years and over. In comparison, the median age of patients managed conservatively (non-surgically) was 75.7 years, with 63,595 patients (65.1%) aged 75 years and over. The MLOS and cost per patient admission were lower in the VA group compared to those managed non-surgically. CONCLUSION: Hospitalised VFF patients represented a significant number, cost, and use of bed days. Those undergoing VA had a significantly shorter length of stay. Further studies are necessary to define those who may benefit from early VA.