Early Discharge after Hip Fracture Surgery is Safe and Maintains Quality of Life in Elderly Patients

Background. While many studies compare early intervention versus delayed surgery in fragility hip fractures, there are few studies regarding the postoperative course of these patients. It is worth looking at the other side of the surgery to determine if an early discharge after hip fracture surgery is favorable.Methodology. This was a retrospective cohort study on elderly hip fracture patients. Subjects were classified into those discharged one to two days post-op (early discharge) and three to six days post-op (routine discharge). World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) in Tagalog scores were taken at two weeks, six weeks, and twelve weeks post-operation. Complications or readmission related to the index surgery, patient satisfaction, and cost difference were also analyzed.Result. Sixty-two subjects were included in this study. WHOQOL-BREF scores of all subjects significantly increased up to 12 weeks of follow-up. Physical domain score in the WHOQOL-BREF was better in the early discharge group in the first six weeks only. Hospitalization costs for the two groups were not significantly different. No participant was readmitted due to complications of their index surgery. Most (73%) said they were Very Satisfied with their course of hospital stay, while 27% were Satisfied.Conclusion. This study shows that even in a low-resource setting, elderly hip fracture patients have good outcomes in terms of quality of life, have a high satisfaction rate, and no increased risk of post-op complications if discharged early.