Differences in hip fracture care in Europe: a systematic review of recent annual reports of hip fracture registries

Purpose Hip fractures are of growing interest due to their increasing number, subsequent functional decline and high institutionalization rate of patients, mortality, and costs. Several process measurements are essential for hip fracture care. To compare and improve these, hip fracture registries in Europe became popular. This systematic review aims to describe the differences between hip fracture registries in Europe as well as the differences in hip fracture treatment between countries. Methods A systematic search using the keywords “hip fracture” AND “national” AND “database OR audit OR registry OR register” was performed in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library according to PRISMA guidelines till 3rd December 2020. Recent annual reports of identified hip fracture registries in Europe were additionally identified in June 2021. Comparisons of most common case-mix, process and outcome measurements were performed. Results 11 registries in Europe were identified. Differences were observed regarding inclusion criteria of the different registries. Comparison of the different registries was difficult due to differences in the way to report measurements. While mortality rates differed substantially between countries, most of the process measurements met recommendations according to recent guidelines. Conclusion Hip fracture registries were a valid tool to compare hospitals within one country. However, a comparison between registries of different countries should have also been easily possible. For this, the registries need to make their data easily accessible and further unify their way of measuring and reporting.

Reliability and Usefulness of Radiographic Union Score (RUS) for Fracture Healing Assessment in Subtrochanteric Femoral Fractures

Background: The fracture healing assessment in subtrochanteric femoral fracture (SFF) is essential due to a high rate of implant failure and non-union. It requires an effective diagnostic tool for determining fracture union status. However, significant disagreement exists among clinicians for SFF union diagnosis, and no standardized method is available. Previous studies showed that radiographic union score (RUS) is reliable and highly correlated with fracture healing status. Objective: To evaluate the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of the RUS method for assessing the fracture healing status in the treatment of SFFs. Materials and Methods: The present study was a retrospective review study conducted on 44 SFFs. A panel of seven reviewers, which included five orthopedic surgeons and two musculoskeletal radiologists, assessed the radiographic healing of SFF based on both the RUS method and the physician impression method. The interobserver and intraobserver reliabilities were calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cohen’s kappa coefficient. The correlation and diagnostic accuracy between RUS and the clinical union were also evaluated. Results: The RUS method resulted in higher intraobserver and interobserver agreement compared to the physician impression method. Inter-rater agreements of the RUS method and physician impression method were moderate (ICC=0.60) and minimal (kappa=0.37), respectively. The RUS method had a higher correlation with clinical union outcome compared to the physician impression method in SFFs (AUC 0.908 versus 0.640). A RUS of 7 or more at 12 weeks had 88% sensitivity and 63% specificity for predicting clinical union outcome. Conclusion: The application of the RUS method is reliable for determining the fracture healing status in SFFs and has better correlation with clinical union than the physician impression method. The RUS method may also be useful for predicting clinical union in SFFs. These results support the use of the radiographic scoring system for fracture healing assessment in SFFs. Keywords: Hip fracture, Subtrochanteric fracture, Fracture healing assessment, Radiographic union, Clinical union, Physician impression