Does frailty affect outcomes after traumatic spinal cord injury?

New Rochelle, NY, November 21, 2019–A new study has shown that frailty is an important predictor of worse outcome after traumatic spinal cord injury in patients less than 75 years of age. In patients younger than 75 years, frailty was a predictor of adverse events, acute length of stay, and in-hospital mortality, as reported in an article published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article on the Journal of Neurotrauma website through December 21, 2019.

“The Effect of Frailty on Outcome after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury” was coauthored by John Street, MD, PhD, University of British Columbia and Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute (Vancouver, Canada) and colleagues from University of British Columbia, Vancouver Spine Surgery Institute, Rick Hansen Institute (Vancouver), and Northern Ontario School of Medicine (Thunder Bay). The researchers examined the effect of patient age, Total Motor Score on admission, and score on a frailty index on adverse events, acute length of hospital stay, in-hospital death, and discharge destination (home or other). They identified the need for more accurate tools to measure frailty in the elderly.

“The observation that frailty is an important risk factor for poor post-operative outcomes in younger spinal cord injured individuals should help treating physicians reduce the risks of adverse events and other complications,” says W. Dalton Dietrich, PhD, Deputy Editor of Journal of Neurotrauma, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami (FL).

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Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, Brain Connectivity, and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.