BACKGROUND: Neck of femur (NOF) @entity174 are the most common injury among elderly @entity1 and a significant burden on our healthcare system. AIMS: This study aimed toevaluate if an Australian rural hospital serviced by general surgeons can meet the established standards of care for the management of NOF @entity174 by undertaking surgery within 48 hours. METHODS: An audit of @entity1 presenting to an Australian rural hospital with NOF @entity174 over a seven-year period. @entity1 were excluded if they were transferred or suffered peri-prosthetic or multi-trauma-related @entity174 . Outcomes included time to surgery, length of stay, and in-hospital mortality, and were compared to three similar Australian studies from hospitals with specialist orthopedic units. Descriptive statistics and meta-analysis were performed. RESULTS: Overall, 182 @entity1 presented with NOF @entity174 and 114 met our inclusion criteria. Only 12 per cent of @entity1 were transferred. @entity1 were mostly female (74 per cent) and elderly (mean age 84.0 years). A total of 79 per cent of @entity1 were operated on within48 hours; other studies reported 67-86 per cent. Mean length of stay was 11.9 days (versus 7.7-13.7), and in-hospital mortality was 4 per cent (versus 2-7 per cent). CONCLUSION: This audit suggests that an Australian rural hospital serviced by general surgeons can meet the established standards of care for management of most NOF @entity174 . Some post-surgery outcomes are similar to those reported by larger centers with specialized orthopedics units.

Neck of femur XXXX management by general surgeons at a rural hospital.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'Patients'] @entity174 :: ('MESH:D050723', 'Disease') :: ['fractures']
@entity174 :: (MESH:D050723,Disease) :: ['fracture']
