Abstract:

Objective: Although the incidence of hip fractures before and during the pandemic is similar, the effect of the epidemic on the distribution of hip fractures and its subtypes cannot be clearly explained. We aimed to elucidate the changes by comparing the number of geriatric hip fractures and the distribution of fracture types between one year of the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and seven years ago. Methods: Hip fracture patients over 65 years of age was analyzed retrospectively. The period between March 11, 2020 and March 10, 2021 was called the pandemic period, and the period between March 11, 2013 and March 10, 2020 was called the pre-pandemic period. Mortality rates and fracture morphology were compared between the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic period. Results: There was no significant difference in the age distribution between pre-covid (80.48±7.38) and Coronavirus period (79.54±7.92) (p=0.163). Likewise, no difference was found between the fracture patterns in both groups (p=0.348). During the pandemic period, femoral neck fractures have become dominant in the younger age group (p=0.038). Conclusion: Despite the restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, geriatric hip fracture rates did not change. At the same time, fracture type distribution was similar to the pre-pandemic period. Pandemic restrictions may have affected hip fracture in the younger age geriatric group. However, this finding alone may not impact the management and planning of geriatric hip fractures during the pandemic.

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