Preoperative management to reduce morbidity and mortality of hip fracture

: Hip femur is extremely common in the elderly and is one of the most common reasons for admission in trauma care. The main reported causes of death after hip fracture were cardiovascular (29%), neurological (20%) and pulmonary. Large epidemiological studies have shown a relatively small decrease in mortality for 20 years despite an active approach to medical and surgical management. Yet 57% of deaths occurring within 30 days post-surgery are preventable because they are not related to a pre-existing disease. Preoperative management to optimize these patients could help to reduce morbidity and mortality and is thus a crucial issue. The anesthesia consultation is used to evaluate the perioperative risk, treat pain, manage treatment and stabilize the patient. An operative delay of more than 48hours after admission increases mortality. This period should not be prolonged by unnecessary investigations that will not change the perioperative management. The preoperative period is a key moment because it allows to choose the anesthetic technique. Even if this choice is controversial, continuous spinal anesthesia (titrated) do not modify the cardiovascular and neurological physiological balance of these precarious patients.