Association between clinical complications and oropharyngeal dysphagia in elderly people hospitalized with trauma-orthopedic fractures

Introduction: Aging leads to pathophysiological changes that reduce functional capacity, increasing the risk of trauma, fractures and hospitalization. Dysphagia is common among the elderly and can exacerbate existing comorbidities, as well as contribute to a worsening of the clinical condition during hospitalization. Objective: To analyze the clinical outcomes of elderly people hospitalized for trauma-orthopedic fractures in a public trauma hospital after surgical intervention and the association of these outcomes with the presence of dysphagia. Method: Retrospective cross-sectional study using a sample from a previous study with 229 individuals from a public trauma hospital. We reviewed 229 medical records in February 2020 to analyze the outcomes of death and post-surgical complications between groups of patients with and without dysphagia. Results: Among the outcomes, there was a significant difference, with a shorter time to surgery, a higher indication for antibiotic use, changes in food consistency, indication for enteral feeding, need for blood transfusion, occurrence of cardiorespiratory arrest, and post-surgical death in the group of elderly patients with dysphagia. In the survival analysis, individuals with dysphagia had lower survival, with a significant difference 30 days after the surgical procedure (4.65 times higher risk for individuals with dysphagia). Conclusion: Elderly patients hospitalized for traumatic orthopedic fractures with oropharyngeal dysphagia have a higher predisposition to post-operative complications and lower survival rates compared to those without dysphagia.