INTRODUCTIONThe purpose of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of elderly hip fracture patients who received surgical treatment with those who received non-surgical treatment.

METHODSThis retrospective study involved 2,756 elderly patients with hip fractures who were admitted over a six-year period. The patients' biodata, complications, ambulatory status at discharge and length of hospital stay were obtained from the institution's hip fracture registry.

RESULTSAmong the 2,756 hip fracture patients, 2,029 (73.6%) underwent surgical intervention, while 727 (26.4%) opted for non-surgical intervention. The complication rate among the patients who underwent surgical intervention was 6.6%, while that among the patients who underwent non-surgical intervention was 12.5% (p < 0.01). The mean length of hospital stay for the surgical and non-surgical hip fracture patients was 15.7 days and 22.4 days, respectively (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSurgical management of hip fractures among the elderly is associated with a lower complication rate, as well as a reduced length of hospital stay.