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Citation
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Konomi T, Yoshikawa M, Kajikawa K, Kitagawa T, Kobayashi Y, Furukawa M, Fujiyoshi K, Yato Y. J. Clin. Med. 2024; 13(14). |
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Abstract
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Study Design: This is a retrospective case series study.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether frailty contributes to functional recovery in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).
METHODS: A total of 121 patients with SCI (106 cervical SCI, 15 thoracic SCI) discharged from our center over the past three years were studied. Moreover, 11-factor modified frailty index (mFI) scores, the length of hospital stays, the rate of returning home, and improvement in Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) scores were assessed retrospectively.
RESULTS: The average age at the time of injury for all 121 cases was 59.6 years. Based on pre-injury assessments, 24 cases were categorized as the Frail group, and 97 cases were categorized as the Robust group. The Frail group had SCIM improvement rates of 16.7% and a home discharge rate of 45.8%. In contrast, the Robust group had SCIM improvement rates of 33.5% and a home discharge rate of 68.0%, with statistically significant differences between the two groups. A significant negative correlation was observed between mFI scores and SCIM improvement rates (R = -0.231, p = 0.014).
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that individuals with pre-existing frailty before SCI experience poorer SCIM improvement rates and face challenges in returning home.
Language: en |