TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Association between frailty and head impact location after ground-level fall in older adults
JO  - Journal of emergency medicine
A1  - Dubucs, Xavier
A1  - Mercier, Éric
A1  - Boucher, Valérie
A1  - Lauzon, Samuel
A1  - Balen, Frederic
A1  - Charpentier, Sandrine
A1  - Emond, Marcel
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are highly prevalent in older adults, and ground-level falls are the most frequent mechanism of injury. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess whether frailty was associated with head impact location among older patients who sustained a ground-level fall-related, mild TBI. The secondary objective was to measure the association between frailty and intracranial hemorrhages. <br><br>METHODS: We conducted a planned sub-analysis of a prospective observational study in two urban university-affiliated emergency departments (EDs). Patients 65 years and older who sustained a ground-level fall-related, mild TBI were included if they consulted in the ED between January 2019 and June 2019. Frailty was assessed using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Patients were stratified into the following three groups: robust (CFS score 1-3), vulnerable-frail (CFS score 4-6), and severely frail (CFS score 7-9). <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 335 patients were included; mean ± SD age was 86.9 ± 8.1 years. In multivariable analysis, frontal impact was significantly increased in severely frail patients compared with robust patients (odds ratio [OR] 4.8 [95% CI 1.4-16.8]; p = 0.01). Intracranial hemorrhages were found in 6.2%, 7.5%, and 13.3% of robust, vulnerable-frail, and severely frail patients, respectively. The OR of intracranial hemorrhages was 1.24 (95% CI 0.44-3.45; p = 0.68) in vulnerable-frail patients and 2.34 (95% CI 0.41-13.6; p = 0.34) in those considered severely frail. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This study found an association between the level of frailty and the head impact location in older patients who sustained a ground-level fall. Our results suggest that head impact location after a fall can help physicians identify frail patients. Although not statistically significant, the prevalence of intracranial hemorrhage seems to increase with the level of frailty.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0736-4679
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2024.01.005
ID  - ref1
ER  -