Research Article Predicting Discharge Location among Low-Energy Hip Fracture Patients Using the Score for Trauma Triage in the Geriatric and Middle-Aged (STTGMA) Sanjit R. Konda , Hesham Saleh, Ariana Lott, and Kenneth A. Egol Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, 301 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Sanjit R. Konda; sanjit.konda@nyumc.org Received 25 May 2018; Revised 9 October 2018; Accepted 11 October 2018; Published 18 November 2018 Academic Editor: Allen L. Carl Copyright © 2018 Sanjit R. Konda et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Patterns of discharge location may be evident based on the “sickness” profle of the patient. Tis study sought to evaluate the ability of the STTGMA tool, a validated mortality risk index for middle-aged and geriatric trauma patients, to predict discharge location in a cohort of low-energy elderly hip fracture patients, with successful discharge planning measured by readmission rates. Low-energy hip fracture patients aged 55 years and older were prospectively followed throughout their hospitalization. On initial evaluation in the Emergency Department, each patient’s age, comorbidities, injury severity, and functional status were utilized to calculate a STTGMA score. Discharge location was recorded with the primary outcome measure of an unsuccessful discharge being readmission within 30 days. Patients were risk stratifed into minimal-, low-, moderate-, and high-risk STTGMA cohorts. A p-value of <0.05 was considered signifcant for all statistical tests. 408 low-energy hip fractures were enrolled in the study with a mean age of 81.3±10.6 years. Tere were 214 (52.5%) intertrochanteric fractures, 167 (40.9%) femoral neck fractures, and 27 (6.6%) subtrochanteric femur fractures. Tere was no diference in readmission rates within STTGMA risk cohorts with respect to discharge location; however, among individual discharge locations there was signifcant variation in readmission rates when patients were risk stratifed. Overall, STTGMA risk cohorts appeared to adequately risk-stratify readmission with 3.5% of minimal-risk patients experiencing readmission compared to 24.5% of moderate-risk patients. Specifc cohorts deemed high-risk for readmission were adequately identifed. Te STTGMA tool allows for prediction of unfavorable discharge location in hip fracture patients. Based on observations made via the STTGMA tool, improvements in discharge planning can be undertaken to increase home discharge and to more closely track “high-risk” discharges to help prevent readmissions. 1. Introduction According to national projections by the US Census Bureau, the older population of the United States will undergo considerable growth in the upcoming years [1]. Current estimations report that the geriatric population, aged 65 years and older, will increase from 43.1 million in 2012 to 83.7 million in 2050 [1]. It is estimated that they will account for over 20% of the general population [2]. Trauma is currently the ffh leading cause of death in older adults. In 2050, the older population will account for approximately 40% of all trauma cases [3]. Hip fractures are common in the middle-aged and geri- atric trauma population. Currently, more than 250,000 hip fractures occur each year in the United States, with that estimate expected to increase to 840,000 by 2040 [4]. Hip fractures are associated with signifcant morbidity, mortality, and costs [5]. In fact, hip fractures account for 14% of all fractures yet comprise 72% of overall fracture care costs [6]. Given the expected increase in the older population and serious health and fnancial consequences associated with hip fractures in this population, proper management of these patients is imperative. Interdisciplinary care, consisting of geriatric consul- tations, discharge planning, and rehabilitation has been shown to improve functional capacity and reduce mor- tality afer hip fracture surgery [7–9]. In conjunction with a multidisciplinary approach, having defned posta- cute care pathways reduces costs and utilization of hospi- tal resources [10]. Although patient care involves several Hindawi Advances in Orthopedics Volume 2018, Article ID 9793435, 6 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9793435