Background: The medical cost of osteoporotic hip fracture has become a great burden for the healthcare system. In Thailand, studies on the costs of bipolar hemiarthroplasty treatment for osteoporotic femoral neck fractures are limited and not up to date.

Objective: To evaluate the in-hospital costs of treating the elderly with osteoporotic femoral neck fractures receiving hemiarthroplasty treatment.

Materials and Methods: Patients with hip fractures who were 60 years or older and underwent bipolar hemiarthroplasty were prospectively observed. All patients were managed according to the Siriraj hip fracture fast-track and Fracture Liaison Service protocols. The authors collected details of the in-hospital costs incurred during the admission period and identified factors associated with an increasing in these costs.

Results: Between February 1 and July 31, 2020, 50 patients were enrolled in the present study. Their average age was 78.3 years, and most had a Charlson comorbidity index of more than 5. The median total in-hospital costs for treatment were 5,013.25 USD with a range of 3,695.05 to 13,193.77 USD. Most of the total in-hospital costs occurred intraoperatively, with 29% of the total costs related to the cost of a prosthesis. The factors associated with an increase in costs were the length of stay (probability p<0.001) and postoperative pneumonia (p=0.038).

Conclusion: In-hospital costs of hip fracture have become a great burden for patients and caregivers. Strategies to reduce total costs during hospitalization should focus on early surgery coupled with rehabilitation, which results in shorter stays.

Keywords: Cost analysis; Femoral neck fracture; Hemiarthroplasty; In-hospital costs

DOI: 10.35755/jmedassocthai.2023.02.13680

Received 30 May 2022 | Revised 11 August 2022 | Accepted 24 August 2022