Determinants of length of hospital stay in older adult hip fracture patients in a northern Peruvian hospital

Objective To determine the determinants of the length of hospital stay (EH) of older adult patients with hip fractures in a hospital in the Lambayeque region of Peru during 2017–2019. Material and methods We conducted an observational study using secondary data analysis. The outcome variable was EH, measured in terms of days from admission to the hospitalization unit until discharge. The main independent variables were age, preoperative time, Functional Ambulation Category, cognitive status index (Red Cross Mental), Barthel index, comorbidities, geriatric syndromes, trauma diagnosis, reason for surgical delay, and preoperative complications. Results Of 399 patients, the minimum age recorded was 60 years, and the maximum age was 100 years, with 63.7% being predominantly female. In relation to EH, it was found that emergency and preoperative time resulted in a prolonged EH (p < 0.001). The crude model found that for each comorbidity, the EH increased by 1.35 days (p < 0.001), with multimorbidity adding 3.47 days to the EH (p = 0.007). Patients who required extensive walking assistance from another person had a 5.02-day reduction in their EH (p = 0.003). Increasing the number of geriatric syndromes increased EH by 0.97 days (p = 0.007). Patients who were waiting for a hospital bed experienced a 5.83-day reduction in EH (p = 0.009). In contrast, in the crude model, the preoperative time increased by 0.99 days to EH (p < 0.001). On the other hand, according to the adjusted model, for each additional day in preoperative time, an increase of 1.03 days in EH duration was observed (p < 0.001). Conclusion The average EH lasted 17 days, with preoperative time contributing to an increase in EH. Optimization of surgical intervention times and improved coordination between different hospital services, as well as proactive management of comorbidities and geriatric syndromes, could reduce the length of EH, improve the efficiency of the healthcare system, and reduce associated costs.