Summary: Objective: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) and its associated illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has led to a global health crisis burdening frontline emergency departments, including orthopedic and trauma units. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the impact of the lockdown secondary to the pandemic on patient numbers and pattern of injuries at the department of traumatology of the Medical University of Vienna.Methods: This retrospective, descriptive study identified all patients admitted and enrolled onto the trauma registry at a level I trauma center, between 15 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 (lockdown) and compared them to those between 15 March 2019 and 30 April 2019 (baseline). Variables collected included patient age, sex, reason for hospital admission, place of injury, death, injury severity score (ISS), as well as American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score.Results: A total of 10,938 patient visits to the trauma emergency department were analyzed, 8353 presentations during the baseline period and 2585 during lockdown. Only 1869 acutely injured and 716 follow-up patients presented during lockdown, compared to 6178 and 2175, respectively, during baseline. Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown there were significant reductions in both workplace and traffic accidents, sports injuries, number of hospitalized patients, and overall visits to the trauma emergency department; however, the number of major traumas and hip fractures remained similar. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the frequency of injuries at home as well as hospital admissions due to attempted suicide.Conclusion: Despite the reduction in total number of patients, trauma departments should continue to provide adequate service during lockdown considering that severe injuries showed no change. Conditions such as breakdown of social networks and limited access to mental health care and support might account for the significant rise in hospital admissions due to suicides. We recommend that more attention and effort should be made to prevent this excess of suicide deaths.

This study evaluated the use of risk prediction models in estimating short- and mid-term mortality following proximal hip fracture in an elderly Austrian population. Data from 1101 patients who sustained a proximal hip fracture were retrospectively analyzed and applied to four models of interest: Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity (POSSUM), Charlson Comorbidity Index, Portsmouth-POSSUM and the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP^®) Risk Score. The performance of these models according to the risk prediction of short- and mid-term mortality was assessed with a receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). The median age of participants was 83 years, and 69% were women. Six point one percent of patients were deceased by 30 days and 15.2% by 180 days postoperatively. There was no significant difference between the models; the ACS-NSQIP had the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for within 30-day and 180-day mortality. Age, male gender, and hemoglobin (Hb) levels at admission <12.0 g/dL were identified as significant risk factors associated with a shorter time to death at 30 and 180 days postoperative (p < 0.001). Among the four scores, the ACS-NSQIP score could be best-suited clinically and showed the highest discriminative performance, although it was not specifically designed for the hip fracture population.

Background: Hip fractures are a prevalent and serious health issue, particularly among the elderly population aged >65 years. These injuries are associated with elevated rates of postoperative complications and mortality, significantly diminishing patients’ quality of life in both the short- and long-term. The prognosis for recovery is further exacerbated in individuals with signs of malnutrition. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of four distinct nutritional assessment scores in relation to postoperative mortality in patients undergoing surgical intervention for hip fractures at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. Methods: This observational study included patients admitted to the Department of Traumatology at the Medical University for the surgical management of hip fractures between January 2019 and November 2021. Nutritional assessment scores were derived from a retrospective analysis of clinical data. The statistical correlation between nutritional scores and postoperative mortality outcomes was rigorously evaluated. Results: Logistic regression analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation (p < 0.01) between all four nutritional scores and postoperative mortality risk. The malnourished cohorts demonstrated a markedly higher risk of mortality compared to those with adequate nutritional status, as indicated by the following risk ratios: Graz Malnutrition Screening (risk ratio = 2.53–1.68), Prognostic Nutritional Index (risk ratio = 2.44–1.74), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (risk ratio = 2.05–1.58), and Controlling Nutritional Status (risk ratio = 2.34–1.46). Despite these findings, the receiver operating characteristic analysis yielded area under the curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.64 to 0.68, indicating limited predictive power. Conclusions: Although a significant correlation existed between the evaluated nutritional scores and postoperative mortality, the predictive value of these scores was quantitatively low. No single nutritional assessment tool has emerged as a strong predictor of postoperative outcomes in this patient population. Consequently, implementation of any specific nutritional screening tool for standard assessment in patients with hip fractures is not recommended at this time. Nevertheless, given the established association between malnutrition and postoperative mortality, a comprehensive evaluation of nutritional status is advisable and further research is needed.

The introduction of three-dimensional (3D) printed anatomical models has garnered interest in pre-operative planning, especially in orthopedic and trauma surgery. Identifying potential error sources and quantifying their effect on the model dimensional accuracy are crucial for the applicability and reliability of such models. In this study, twenty radii were extracted from anatomic forearm specimens and subjected to osteotomy to simulate a defined fracture of the distal radius (Colles’ fracture). Various factors, including two different computed tomography (CT) technologies (energy-integrating detector (EID) and photon-counting detector (PCD)), four different CT scanners, two scan protocols (i.e., routine and high dosage), two different scan orientations, as well as two segmentation algorithms were considered to determine their effect on 3D model accuracy. Ground truth was established using 3D reconstructions of surface scans of the physical specimens. Results indicated that all investigated variables significantly impacted the 3D model accuracy (p < 0.001). However, the mean absolute deviation fell within the range of 0.03 ± 0.20 to 0.32 ± 0.23 mm, well below the 0.5 mm threshold necessary for pre-operative planning. Intra- and inter-operator variability demonstrated fair to excellent agreement for 3D model accuracy, with an intra-class correlation (ICC) of 0.43 to 0.92. This systematic investigation displayed dimensional deviations in the magnitude of sub-voxel imaging resolution for all variables. Major pitfalls included missed or overestimated bone regions during the segmentation process, necessitating additional manual editing of 3D models. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that 3D bone fracture models can be obtained with clinical routine scanners and scan protocols, utilizing a simple global segmentation threshold, thereby providing an accurate and reliable tool for pre-operative planning.

Background: Hip fractures are becoming a growing concern due to an aging population. The high costs to the healthcare system and far-reaching consequences for those affected, including a loss of independence and increased mortality rates, make this issue important. Poor nutritional status is a common problem among geriatric patients and is associated with a worse prognosis. Nutritional screening tools can help identify high-risk patients and enable individualized care to improve survival rates. Material and methods: This retrospective study investigates four nutritional scores and laboratory parameters’ predictive significance concerning postoperative mortality after surgical treatment of proximal femur fractures at 1, 3, 6, and 12 month/s for patients over 60 years using the chi-square test, Cox regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristics (ROC). The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) guidelines were used as part of the screening of the respective nutritional status of the patients, in particular to filter out malnutrition. Results: A total of 1080 patients were included in this study, whereas 8.05% suffered from malnutrition, defined as a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5 kg/m². The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) screening tool identified the highest proportion of malnourished patients at 14.54%. A total of 36.39% of patients were at risk of malnutrition according to three nutrition scores, with MNA providing the most significant proportion at 41.20%. Patients identified as malnourished had a higher mortality rate, and MNA screening was the only tool to show a significant correlation with postoperative mortality in all survey intervals. The MNA presented the best predictive significance among the screening tools, with a maximum area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7 at 12 month postoperatively. Conclusions: MNA screening has a solid correlation and predictive significance regarding postoperative mortality—therefore routine implementation of this screening in orthopedic/traumatology wards is recommended. Moreover, nutritional substitution therapy can offer a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-implement measure. The Graz malnutrition screening (GMS) shows moderate predictive power and could be considered as an alternative for patients under 60 years of age. A higher albumin level is associated with improved survival probability, but cannot be indicative of nutritional status.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant challenge in older polytrauma patients, with age being a major determinant of outcomes. While mortality predictors have been studied in general polytrauma populations, less is known about specific risk factors in older adults with TBI. Methods: This retrospective study analysed data from 304 polytrauma patients over 18 years of age treated at a Level 1 trauma centre between 2013 and 2023. Patients were divided into three age categories: 18–64 years (n = 189), 65–84 years (n = 92), and ≥85 years (n = 23). The analysis included demographics, injury patterns, clinical indicators, surgical treatments, and in-hospital mortality to identify key mortality predictors. Results: The mean age was 54.5 years (SD 22.2); 72% of patients were male. In-hospital mortality was 36.3% overall, increasing to 60.8% in patients aged ≥85. TBI severity was moderate in 25% and severe in 75% of cases. Older patients were less frequently admitted to the ICU and more often managed conservatively. ICU admission was significantly lower in patients aged 65–84 (24.5%) and ≥85 (19.4%) compared to the 18–64 group (70.0%). Multivariate analysis identified age, male sex, and severe TBI as significant predictors of 30-day mortality. Conclusions: TBI management in older polytrauma patients requires distinct approaches due to higher mortality and poorer outcomes. Age is a critical risk factor, highlighting the need for tailored triage systems and ICU strategies to improve care and prognosis in this vulnerable population.