Surgery delays were not linked to hip fracture deaths in Greenland
Among 262 patients, average surgical wait was 91.4 hours, but longer waits were not associated with mortality at 30 days or one year.
Limit: Frailty adjustment relied on CCI and ASA proxies, potentially leaving residual differences in frailty
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Researchers reviewed records for 262 hip fracture patients in Greenland from 2018 through 2022 in a retrospective observational study. They examined whether surgical delays were associated with death within 30 days or one year.
Average time to surgery was 91.4 hours, and 90% waited more than 24 hours. Longer delays were not associated with higher mortality. The ranges of likely effects included no difference. At 30 days, mortality was 9.9% in Greenland and 10.8% in a parallel Danish cohort with shorter surgical delays. At one year, mortality was 29.4% in Greenland and 28% in the Danish cohort. Age over 70 was associated with higher mortality.
Why it matters
Hip fracture care is an important concern in later life, particularly given the higher mortality associated with older age. The authors questioned a general need for fast-track surgery in resource-limited areas.
Caveats
This retrospective observational study cannot establish that surgical delays are harmless. It covered 262 patients in Greenland, so the findings do not necessarily apply to patients elsewhere.
From the paper
- Participants
A total of 262 patients met these criteria and were included in the study.
- Limitation
First, we lacked genetic data to confirm the ethnic background, but it is shown that approximately 25% of the Greenlandic gene pool includes European admixture, leaving 75% of Inuit genes [Citation15].
Quoted word for word from the full text on tandfonline.com.
The paper
Queen Ingrids Hospital; Aalborg University Hospital
International Journal of Circumpolar Health, Oct 22, 2026
