Poor outcome in frail elderly patient after severe TBI

Objective To investigate the influence of frailty in elderly with severe TBI on mortality and functional outcome. Method 126 patients with TBI aged 60 years or older and with a presenting Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 or lower were retrospectively included. To investigate frailty, we used the CSHA Clinical Frailty Scale. The primary outcome measures were mortality, and the secondary outcome measures were Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) at discharge and GOSE at 6 months after trauma. Results High frailty was a significant predictor for mortality (OR 2.38, p 0.047), if adjusted for the injury severity scale. High frailty was also a significant predictor for poor functional outcome after 6 months (OR 4.35, p 0.03). After 6 months, the GOSE of the low frailty group was significantly higher than in the high frailty group (p 0.019). Also, the improvement of the GOSE was significant in the low frailty group (p 0.007), while in the high frailty group there was no significant improvement of the GOSE (p 0.546) after 6 months. Conclusion Frailty has a significant impact on outcome in elderly with severe TBI. There is a higher mortality in the frail elderly and there is less recovery after TBI.

Automated summary

Frailty has a significant impact on outcomes in elderly patients with severe TBI. High frailty is associated with higher mortality and poorer functional recovery. Low frailty is associated with significant improvement in functional outcome after 6 months.