There is increasing interest in healthcare quality and economic implications for hip fracture patients of very old age. However, results are limited by access to comparable control groups.

We examined healthcare quality measures including mortality and length of stay (LOS) in hospital of adults aged 60–107 years undergoing hip operations, compared to an age-matched group admitted for acute general medical conditions.

Monocentric cross-sectional study.

Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey, United Kingdom.

A total of 3972 consecutive admissions for hip operation from 1st April 2009 to 30th June 2019 (dataset-1) and 6979 for acute general medical conditions from 1st April 2019 to 29th February 2020 (dataset-2). Respective ages, mean (±standard deviation), were 83.5 years (±9.1) and 79.8 years (±9.8).

Mortality and LOS were assessed with each group divided into five- year age bands and those ≥95 years.

There were proportionally more (P <0.001) females admitted for hip operations (72.8%) than for acute general medical conditions (53.8%). Amongst patients admitted with general medical conditions, the frequency of the most serious recorded conditions - including congestive heart failure, stroke, and pneumonia - increased with age. Amongst patients undergoing hip operations, 5.7% died in hospital and 29.3% had a LOS ≥3 weeks. Corresponding values for acute general medical conditions were 10.4% and 11.8%. For those undergoing hip operations in all age categories, the risk of death was lower than for acute general medical group: sex-adjusted odds ratios ranged between 0.27 and 0.67, but the risk of LOS ≥3 weeks was greater: odds ratios ranged between 2.46 and 2.95.

Compared to those admitted with acute general medical conditions, patients admitted for hip operations had a lower risk of death, but a longer hospital LOS.