ArticleCureus2026
The Surgical Timing Gap in Elderly Hip Fracture Management: A Regional Systems Analysis.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTimely surgical management of hip fractures in elderly patients is a key determinant of outcomes. International guidelines recommend early surgery; however, data on system-level contributors to delay in Saudi Arabia remain limited. STUDY
aimThe aim of this study is to evaluate surgical timing in elderly hip fracture patients in the Medina region, identify patient-, provider-, and system-level factors contributing to delay, and assess the impact of delayed surgery on clinical outcomes.
methodsThis retrospective cohort systems analysis included 400 patients aged ≥60 years admitted with femoral neck, intertrochanteric, or subtrochanteric hip fractures to two regional hospitals. Patients were stratified into early (≤48 hours) and delayed (>48 hours) surgery groups. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and multivariable logistic regression were performed to identify predictors of delay. Outcomes included length of stay, postoperative complications, and in-hospital mortality.
resultsOnly 22.0% of patients underwent surgery within 48 hours. The median time to surgery was 88.2 hours. Delayed surgery was associated with older age (p = 0.052) and higher ASA class (p = 0.029). Weekend admission (31.7% vs. 14.0%; p = 0.009), a greater number of preoperative consultations (p = 0.002), and operating room list deferral (25.2% vs. 0%; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with delay. In multivariable analysis, independent predictors of delay included older age (aOR 1.04; p = 0.015), intertrochanteric fracture (aOR 2.07; p = 0.048), weekend admission (aOR 2.84; p = 0.029), longer laboratory turnaround time (aOR 1.02; p = 0.012), and increased number of consultations (aOR 1.88; p < 0.001). Delayed surgery was associated with a longer hospital length of stay (median 8 vs. 6 days; p < 0.001), while postoperative complications (p = 0.312) and in-hospital mortality (p = 0.527) did not differ significantly between groups.
conclusionSurgical delay in elderly hip fracture patients in the Medina region is common and is driven predominantly by modifiable system-level factors rather than patient-related clinical instability. Addressing organizational barriers, particularly weekend service gaps, consultation burden, and operating room access, may substantially improve timeliness and efficiency of hip fracture care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.