This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Decreased lean psoas cross-sectional area may increase all-cause mortality rate after trauma
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Results published in The Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma showed a decreased lean psoas cross-sectional area may be associated with an increased all-cause mortality rate at 1 year among elderly patients who experienced orthopedic trauma.
Basel M. Touban , MD, and colleagues reviewed demographic and clinical data, injury mechanisms, fracture OTA/AO classification and mortality for 558 patients with a mean age of approximately 76.65 years admitted for trauma. Researchers used axial CT images to measure the lean psoas cross*sectional area at the L3-L4 disc space. The main outcome measure was 1-year all-cause mortality, which was defined as death within 12 months from the date of hospitalization.
Results showed a 17.6% 1-year mortality rate, of which in-hospital mortality had a rate of 7.53%. On average, patients who died within 1 year of admission were older, had lower BMI, lower psoas muscle cross-sectional area, were more likely women and had three or more comorbidities compared with surviving patients, according to results. Researchers found a statistically significant association between decreased lean psoas cross-sectional area and 1 year mortality in the total population. After stratification of patients by gender, researchers noted men had a statistically significant mortality hazard ratio, but no statistically significant mortality hazard ratio was found among women.
“Survivorship after trauma in the elderly is dependent on multiple factors,” Touban told Healio.com/Orthopedics. “The surgeon must fully evaluate each patient’s vulnerabilities taking into account that, for the elderly patient, sarcopenia can have a deleterious effect on their ability to withstand the trauma and subsequent interventions.” – by Casey Tingle
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts