Clinical features and outcomes of patients who developed aspiration pneumonia during the acute phase of hip fracture recovery

Abstract

In this study, the clinical features and outcomes of patients who developed aspiration pneumonia during the acute phase of recovery from hip fracture were analyzed. Sixty dysphagic patients over the age of 60 years who had sustained hip fractures were included in our study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the absence or presence of pneumonia during the recovery phase and a comparison of various clinical parameters were made between the groups. Severe dysphagia associated with central nervous system disease, conservative treatment of fracture, and longer hospitalization with poorer prognosis were seen more frequently in the group with pneumonia. More than half of the patients with pneumonia ultimately did not regain the ability to feed orally. Prevention of aspiration pneumonia following hip fracture is critical to improve prognosis and clinical outcomes.