Socioeconomic status and loss to follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.
- 1From the School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. (Tan); the Department of Surgery, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. (Tohidi, Yach); the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Syed).
- 2From the School of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. (Tan); the Department of Surgery, Queen's University, Kingston, Ont. (Tohidi, Yach); the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont. (Syed). [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Follow-up after surgery is important, to monitor patient recovery and to identify potential complications. Our primary objective was to determine the association between patient socioeconomic status and loss to follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.Methods
We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18 to 75 years who underwent orthopedic trauma surgery at a trauma centre in Ontario between January 2022 and December 2023. Patient socioeconomic status was determined by linking postal code with Material and Social Deprivation Index and presented as quintiles. We measured clinic follow-up attendance for 6 months after index surgery. We used logistic regression modelling to estimate the association between material deprivation quintiles and loss to follow-up, accounting for baseline patients and perioperative factors.Results
The study cohort included 1764 patients. Approximately 1 in 4 patients missed at least 1 follow-up appointment in the 6 months after surgery. Odds of missed follow-up with no return were 83% higher in patients in the most deprived quintile, compared with patients who were least deprived (odds ratio 1.83, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 3.08). Younger age and higher American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status score were associated with increased odds of loss to follow-up. Geographic distance to hospital was not independently associated with loss to follow-up.Conclusion
Loss to follow-up is common after orthopedic trauma surgery, and the risk is higher in patients who are most socioeconomically disadvantaged. Innovative solutions should address the needs of specific patient groups to optimize patient access to appropriate, timely follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.
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BibTeX
@article{tan2026socioeconomic,
title = {{Socioeconomic status and loss to follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.}},
author = {Yvonne Tan and Mina Tohidi and Imran Syed and Jeff Yach},
journal = {Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1503/cjs.021225},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42875097},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Socioeconomic status and loss to follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.
AU - Yvonne Tan
AU - Mina Tohidi
AU - Imran Syed
AU - Jeff Yach
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgie
DO - 10.1503/cjs.021225
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42875097
AB - Background Follow-up after surgery is important, to monitor patient recovery and to identify potential complications. Our primary objective was to determine the association between patient socioeconomic status and loss to follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 18 to 75 years who underwent orthopedic trauma surgery at a trauma centre in Ontario between January 2022 and December 2023. Patient socioeconomic status was determined by linking postal code with Material and Social Deprivation Index and presented as quintiles. We measured clinic follow-up attendance for 6 months after index surgery. We used logistic regression modelling to estimate the association between material deprivation quintiles and loss to follow-up, accounting for baseline patients and perioperative factors.Results The study cohort included 1764 patients. Approximately 1 in 4 patients missed at least 1 follow-up appointment in the 6 months after surgery. Odds of missed follow-up with no return were 83% higher in patients in the most deprived quintile, compared with patients who were least deprived (odds ratio 1.83, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 3.08). Younger age and higher American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status score were associated with increased odds of loss to follow-up. Geographic distance to hospital was not independently associated with loss to follow-up.Conclusion Loss to follow-up is common after orthopedic trauma surgery, and the risk is higher in patients who are most socioeconomically disadvantaged. Innovative solutions should address the needs of specific patient groups to optimize patient access to appropriate, timely follow-up after orthopedic trauma surgery.
SN - 0008-428X
SN - 1488-2310
ER -