Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov:34 Suppl 3:S22-S28.
doi: 10.1097/BOT.0000000000001928.

Predictors of Loss to Follow-up in Hip Fracture Trials: A Secondary Analysis of the FAITH and HEALTH Trials

Surabhi Sivaratnam  1 , Marianne Comeau-Gauthier, Sheila Sprague, Emil H Schemitsch, Rudolf W Poolman, Frede Frihagen, Mohit Bhandari, Marc Swiontkowski, Sofia Bzovsky; FAITH Investigators; HEALTH Investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

Predictors of Loss to Follow-up in Hip Fracture Trials: A Secondary Analysis of the FAITH and HEALTH Trials

Surabhi Sivaratnam et al. J Orthop Trauma. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Hip fracture trials often suffer substantial loss to follow-up due to difficulties locating and communicating with participants or when participants, or their family members, withdraw their consent. We aimed to determine which factors were associated with being unable to contact FAITH and HEALTH participants for their 24-month follow-up and to also determine which factors were associated with their withdrawal of consent.

Methods: We conducted 2 multivariable logistic regression analyses to determine which factors were predictive of being unable to contact participants at 24 months postfracture and withdrawal of consent within 24 months of their fracture. Results were reported as odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and associated P-values. All tests were 2-tailed with alpha = 0.05.

Results: We were unable to contact 123 of 2520 participants (4.9%) for their 24-month follow-up visits and 124 (4.9%) withdrew their consent from the trial. Being non-White (P = 0.003), enrolled from a non-European hospital (P < 0.001), and treated with arthroplasty (P < 0.001) were associated with an increased odds of not completing the 24-month follow-up visit. Being enrolled from a hospital in the United States (P = 0.02), from a hospital in Oceania, India, or South Africa (P < 0.001) as compared to a European hospital, and treated with arthroplasty (P < 0.001) were associated with an increased odds of consent withdrawal.

Discussion: Certain factors may be predictive of loss to follow-up in hip fracture trials. We suggest that the identification of such factors may be used to inform and improve retention strategies in future orthopaedic hip fracture trials.

Level of evidence: Prognostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Zelle BA, Buttacavoli FA, Shroff JB, et al. Loss of followup in orthopaedic trauma: who is getting lost to follow-up? J Orthop Trauma. 2015;29:510–515.
    1. Sprague S, Leece P, Bhandari M, et al. Limiting loss to follow-up in a multicenter randomized trial in orthopedic surgery. Control Clin Trials. 2003;24:719–725.
    1. Somerson JS, Bartush KC, Shroff JB, et al. Loss to follow-up in orthopaedic clinical trials: a systematic review. Int Orthop. 2016;40:2213–2219.
    1. Madden K, Scott T, McKay P, et al. Predicting and preventing loss to follow-up of adult trauma patients in randomized controlled trials: an example from the FLOW trial. J Bone Joint Surg. 2017;99:1086–1092.
    1. Murray DW, Britton AR, Bulstrode CJ. Loss to follow-up matters. J Bone Joint Surg. 1997;79:254–257.