LAUSR

We have read with great interest the article by Dr. Marcheix et al. on the impact of an orthogeratrician on the management of patients with hip fractures [1]. It is refreshing to note how several groups in different countries are undertaking work on such important aspect of the management of these patients. We recently published our own experience in this field [2]. We collected data of 352 patients and divided them in two groups. In the year when the orthogeriatrician started to work in our Orthopaedic Department, our colleague led a multidisciplinary team to manage elderly patients with hip fractures, ensuring that the time to surgery from admission was less than 48 hours. In addition, the hospitalization time after surgery decreased from a mean of 10.1 ± 4.5 SD to 8.7 ± 3.2 SD, and the total length of stay was statistically reduced from a mean of 12.2 days ± 5 SD to 10.8 days ± 3.7 SD. Given these data, the employment of a geriatrician in the Orthopaedic Department makes sense from a medical and a health economics perspective. Declarations