Team Approach: Management of Postoperative Delirium in the Elderly Patient with Femoral-Neck Fracture.

Femoral-neck fracture in the elderly patient is a common clinical scenario encountered by orthopaedic surgeons. In the United States, approximately 300,000 hip fractures in elderly patients occur each year. Hip fractures are associated with high morbidity, functional disability, and an increased risk of mortality and institutionalization. Delirium, an acute confusional state, is a common, often unrecognized, and serious postoperative problem in the elderly patient with a femoral-neck fracture. Delirium can contribute to complications, functional disability, loss of independence, mortality, and higher health-care costs. Multifactorial interventional strategies for delirium prevention offer the best chance to avoid this problem and its associated negative impact on patients, society, and the health-care system.