The preoperative BUN-to-albumin ratio predicts early mortality after geriatric intertrochanteric fracture surgery: a retrospective cohort study
A simple blood-test ratio predicts which elderly hip-fracture patients face highest mortality risk, improving surgical planning and care priorities.
In 514 elderly hip fracture patients, the preoperative BUN-to-albumin ratio (BAR) outperformed multiple inflammatory biomarkers (NLR, PLR, CRP/albumin) for predicting 30-day mortality, with AUC=0.82 and independent predictor status in multivariable analysis. BAR integrates renal perfusion, metabolic stress, and nutritional status into a single routine-available ratio, making it an immediately practical risk stratification tool for elderly surgical patients.
What the study was
- Study design
- Retrospective cohort study
- Population
- Elderly patients (≥65 years) undergoing surgery for intertrochanteric hip fractures
- Sample size
- 514
- Category
- Diagnostics
- Maturity
- Exploratory
- Journal
- Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research
Why it surfaced
Simple routine-available biomarker (BAR) with AUC=0.82 for 30-day mortality prediction in a very high-burden population (geriatric hip fracture, 10.5% mortality); immediately implementable for preoperative risk stratification.
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