One-Year Survival and Postoperative Complications in Older Patients with Intertrochanteric Fractures: Association with Polypharmacy-A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION

Polypharmacy is common in older patients and associated with adverse outcomes. However, the association with outcomes in patients with intertrochanteric fractures remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate associations between polypharmacy and 1-year survival (primary outcome) and postoperative complications (secondary outcome), in older patients undergoing surgical treatment for intertrochanteric fractures.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This multicenter retrospective study initially identified 1864 patients who underwent surgical treatment for intertrochanteric fractures between 2016 and 2020. We excluded those aged < 65 years, with polytrauma, or with Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) > 3 or insufficient data. Patients were classified into polypharmacy (≥ 5 medications) and non-polypharmacy (< 5 medications) groups. We performed two analyses: (1) complete case analysis using 1:1 propensity score matching (498 pairs) with variables including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), CCI, residence before admission, fracture type, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status (PS), and Parker Mobility Score, followed by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with log-rank test and chi-squared test for complications and (2) multivariate Cox regression analysis using multiple imputation (CART method, five imputed datasets) of the eligible cohort (N = 1608), adjusting for the same variables.

RESULTS

In the matched cohort, the 1-year survival rate was significantly lower in the polypharmacy group (91.3%; 95% CI 87.7-93.8) compared with the non-polypharmacy group (94.0%; 95% CI 90.9-96.1; P = 0.027). Postoperative complications showed no significant differences between groups. Cox regression analysis revealed that advanced age, male sex, ASA-PS, and polypharmacy were associated with decreased survival, while higher Parker Mobility Score and normal and higher BMI showed improved survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Polypharmacy was associated with lower postoperative survival in older patients with intertrochanteric fractures and few comorbidities. As a potentially modifiable factor, medication review through multidisciplinary collaboration might contribute to improved outcomes.