• Tracy U Nguyen-Oghalai, Yong-Fang Kuo, Helen Wu, Navkiran K Shokar, Michael Grecula, Steven Tincher, and Kenneth J Ottenbacher.
• Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0460, USA. toghalai@yahoo.com
• South. Med. J. 2010 May 1; 103 (5): 414418414-8.

BackgroundWe sought to examine the preoperative time for hip stabilization procedure among Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks (blacks) and non-Hispanic whites (whites).MethodsThis was a secondary data analysis using Medicare claims data. Our analysis included 40,321 patients admitted for hip fracture hospitalization from 2001-2005. Our primary analysis was generalized linear modeling, and our dependent variable was preoperative time. Our independent variable was race/ethnicity (Hispanics, blacks versus whites), and covariates were age, gender, income, type of hip fracture and comorbidities.ResultsBivariate analyses showed that both Hispanics and blacks experienced a longer preoperative time (P < 0.01). The average (mean) of days to surgery was 1.2 for whites, 1.6 for blacks and 1.7 for Hispanics. The delayed preoperative time among Hispanics and blacks persisted after adjusting for covariates.ConclusionsThe delayed preoperative time among minorities suggests the need to closely monitor care among minorities with hip fracture to determine how to best address their developing needs.

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