Cha YH, et al. - Researchers compared chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-COPD patients regarding early and late mortality after hip fracture. In addition, they sought for risk factors of mortality after hip fractures in elderly patients with COPD. In this comparative study of 1294 patients (1294 hips), the non-COPD group comprised 853 patients and the COPD group comprised 441 patients; mild-to-moderate [354 patients] and severe-to-very severe COPD subgroups [87 patients]. The COPD group displayed higher 1, 2, 3, 6-month, and 1-year postoperative cumulative mortality rates than the non-COPD group. COPD was identified to be an independent factor affecting mortality among elderly patients with hip fracture compared to non-COPD patients. For patients with hip fracture, COPD severity was noted as a risk factor affecting 6-months and 1-year mortality.