Hip fractures are a significant health care problem in the elderly, affecting 1.5 million people per year worldwide. This number is expected to increase to 2.6 million by 2025 and 4.5 million by 2050 due to the aging population. The consequences of a hip fracture can be serious; one-third of the patients die within the first year postoperative. The mortality rate is highest in the early postoperative period, reaching up to 13.3% within the first 30 days after surgery. Numerous risk factors for early mortality following hip fracture surgery have been reported, however study designs are inconsistent and the selection and definition of variables vary. Given how common hip fractures are, it is important to obtain knowledge about these risk factors in order to optimize quality of care. Identification of patients at high risk for early mortality is beneficial, to inform the patient about the prognosis of hip fracture surgery and to customize care. Aim of this project is to use both data-driven and structured expert judgement approaches to come to clinical decision support for decisions on hip surgery for frail elderly.
Collaborators in this project include dr. Wieke Nijmeijer (Resident Surgery ZGT), dr. Karin Groothuis-Oudshoorn (Assistant Professor, HTSR/UT), dr.ir. Maurice van Keulen (Associate Professor, DMB/UT).