Prospective validation and application of the Trauma-Specific Frailty Index: Results of an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma multi-institutional observational trial.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The frailty index is a known predictor of adverse outcomes in geriatric patients. Trauma-Specific Frailty Index (TSFI) was created and validated at a single center to accurately identify frailty and reliably predict worse outcomes among geriatric trauma patients. This study aims to prospectively validate the TSFI in a multi-institutional cohort of geriatric trauma patients.
METHODS: This is a prospective, observational, multi-institutional trial across 17 American College of Surgeons Levels I, II, and III trauma centers. All geriatric trauma patients (65 years and older) presenting during a 3-year period were included. Frailty status was measured within 24 hours of admission using the TSFI (15 variables), and patients were stratified into nonfrail (TSFI, ≤0.12), prefrail (TSFI, 0.13-0.25), and frail (TSFI, >0.25) groups. Outcome measures included index admission mortality, discharge to rehabilitation centers or skilled nursing facilities (rehab/SNFs), and 3-month postdischarge readmissions, fall recurrences, complications, and mortality among survivors of index admission.
RESULTS: A total of 1,321 geriatric trauma patients were identified and enrolled for validation of TSFI (nonfrail, 435 [33%]; prefrail, 392 [30%]; frail, 494 [37%]). The mean ± SD age was 77 ± 8 years; the median (interquartile range) Injury Severity Score was 9 (5-13). Overall, 179 patients (14%) had a major complication, 554 (42%) were discharged to rehab/SNFs, and 63 (5%) died during the index admission. Compared with nonfrail patients, frail patients had significantly higher odds of mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.93; p = 0.018), major complications (aOR, 3.55; p < 0.001), and discharge to rehab/SNFs (aOR, 1.98; p < 0.001). In addition, frailty was significantly associated with higher adjusted odds of mortality, major complications, readmissions, and fall recurrence at 3 months postdischarge ( p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION: External applicability of the TSFI (15 variables) was evident at a multicenter cohort of 17 American College of Surgeons trauma centers in geriatric trauma patients. The TSFI emerged as an independent predictor of worse outcomes, both in the short-term and 3-month postdischarge.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic and Epidemiological; Level III.
Volume
94
Issue
1
First Page
36
Last Page
44
ISSN
2163-0763
Published In/Presented At
Joseph, B., Saljuqi, A. T., Amos, J. D., Teichman, A., Whitmill, M. L., Anand, T., Hosseinpour, H., Burruss, S. K., Dunn, J. A., Najafi, K., Godat, L. N., Enniss, T. M., Shoultz, T. H., Egodage, T., Bongiovanni, T., Hazelton, J. P., Colling, K. P., Costantini, T. W., Stein, D. M., Schroeppel, T. J., … AAST Frailty MIT Study Group (2023). Prospective validation and application of the Trauma-Specific Frailty Index: Results of an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma multi-institutional observational trial. The journal of trauma and acute care surgery, 94(1), 36–44. https://doi.org/10.1097/TA.0000000000003817
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
36279368
Department(s)
Department of Surgery
Document Type
Article