OBJECTIVES: To explore the factors associated with recovery time in patients with lower limb fractures.

METHODS: An analytical, retrospective, cross-sectional study of patients diagnosed with lower limb fractures who attended hospital institutions in the Department of Atlántico (Colombia) during 2017-2022 was carried out, to identify the factors associated with work incapacity.

RESULTS: We identified 2,373 cases that met the inclusion criteria, distributed across 21 diagnostic groups according to ICD-10. The median work incapacity was 78 days (range 49-173), with no significant differences observed between the diagnostic groups. Patients who took more than 12 hours to undergo surgery had a significantly longer work incapacity (median=89, range= 55-201; SD=49.6) than those who took 12 hours or less (median=57, range= 37-135; SD=32.4) (p<0.05). Additionally, the cause of the fracture also had a notable impact, with fractures generated by traffic accidents resulting in a significantly shorter median of 14 days less (p<0.001). Other factors, such as the time between the patient's admission to the emergency room and confirmation of the diagnosis, and the time between surgery and discharge, did not exhibit statistically significant differences.

CONCLUSIONS: The delay times in performing surgery once the diagnosis was established and the cause of admission to the emergency room were the only factors that presented significant differences with the number of days of work incapacity generated in the patients studied. This last factor could be influenced by the fact that in Colombia the care of fractures caused by traffic accidents has a different insurance coverage regime than that of other causes, with more expeditious payment mechanisms. Further research is needed to better understand other factors that could influence the variations observed in the number of days of disability among cases of the same diagnostic group of lower limb fractures, especially those factors that may be amenable to intervention.