Hospitalization and discharge routes of elderly hip fracture patients with and without dementia: a nationwide cross-sectional exploratory study using the Japanese Diagnostic Procedure Combination database

Abstract Purpose The characteristics of elderly hip fracture patients in acute care hospitals were analyzed based on hospitalization and discharge route and the presence or absence of a dementia diagnosis. Methods The study was conducted as a cross-sectional exploratory study using data from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in Japan from April 2014 to March 2016. Patients aged 65 years or older who had surgery for a hip fracture were identified. We subsequently extracted patients whose home, medical institution (including convalescent rehabilitation wards), or elderly care facility was both the admission and discharge route. A total of 105 122 patients were included. Results 19% of patients were diagnosed with dementia. Patients with dementia had a shorter length of acute care hospital stay than those without dementia. The hospitalization route for dementia patients was 51% at home and 40% at a care facility. Dementia patients were discharged to hospital and care facilities at 41% each. Nearly all patients received hospital-based postoperative rehabilitation regardless of dementia but patients with dementia had lower gains in activities of daily living. Conclusion Hip fracture patients with dementia have less opportunity for continuous hospital-based rehabilitation and need an environment that allows for continuous elderly care facility-based and community-based rehabilitation. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION In Japan, an aging society, one in five elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery was diagnosed with dementia. Many hip fracture patients with dementia have a shorter length of hospital stay and may have fewer opportunities to change hospitals to receive rehabilitation. It is necessary to establish an ongoing and proactive community- and elderly care facility-based rehabilitation system for patients with hip fracture with dementia after acute care hospital discharge.