Abstract
Background: A Hip fracture in the intermediate-risk elderly patient is common and associated with a high rate of postoperative morbidity and mortality. There is a lack of consensus on the optimal anaesthetic technique but there is a clear association between intraoperative hypotension and postoperative morbidity and mortality. We aimed to compare the haemodynamic stability of three anaesthesia techniques: general anaesthesia (GA), continuous spinal anaesthesia (CSA), and multiple nerve blocks (MNB).Methods: The primary outcome was the occurrence of intraoperative hypotension defined by a 30% decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP) from baseline. Secondary outcomes included incidence of hypotension under 50 mmHg of MAP, time spent below MAP 50 mmHg, use of vasopressors, in-hospital and 30-day mortality. A propensity score-matched analysis was performed.Results: After screening and application of the exclusion criteria, 593 patients undergoing hip fracture surgery between the 1st of January 2015 and the 31st of December 2016 were included. The propensity score match analysis selected 43 patients in each group. The incidence of hypotension was significantly higher in the GA group than in the MNB and CSA groups: 39 (90%), 22 (51%), and 23 (53.5%), respectively; p < 0.0001. The incidence of MAP < 50 mmHg (59.5%, 23.3%, and 16.3%; p < 0.0001) and the use of vasopressors (93%, 39.5%, and 25.6%; p < 0.0001) were increased significantly in the GA group. With the GA group as a reference, odds ratios were reported in the MNB group at 0.08 [0.022-0.30] (p = 0.0002) for hypotension episodes; 0.17 [0.04-0.66] (p = 0.01) for hypotension < 50 mmHg for more than 3 min and 0.049 [0.013-0.018] (p < 0.0001) for use of vasopressors. The duration of hospital stay, postoperative complications, in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates did not differ significantly between the groups.Conclusion: CSA and MNB provide better haemodynamic stability than GA. However, whatever the anaesthesia technique used, the mortality rates do not change even if MNB leads to less hypotension. IRB contact information: CERAR IRB 00010254-2016-118. Clinical Trial Number: ClinicalTrials.gov. ID: NCT03356704.