Admission albumin levels and functional outcome of elderly hip fracture patients: is it that important?

The effect of hypersensitive C-reactive protein to albumin ratio on the risk of fragility fracture in the Chinese male population

This study explored the association between the hypersensitive C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) and fragility fractures in Chinese males. Results show that elevated levels of CAR were associated with an increased risk of fragility fractures and that this association was robust to adjustment for multiple potential confounders.

PURPOSE

This study investigates the relationship between the hypersensitive C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) and fragility fractures in a Chinese male population.

METHODS

A total of 48,186 male participants (age range 18-98 years old, average age 53.92 years) at baseline were recruited from the Kailuan Study and followed up for outcomes until 2022. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident fragility fractures. The dose response between CAR and fracture risk was analyzed using restricted cubic splines. Additionally, the concordance index (C-index), net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were utilized to assess the incremental predictive value of various indicators for the discrimination of fragility fractures.

RESULTS

During an average follow-up of 11.17 years, 728 incident fragility fractures occurred among the 48,186 participants. Compared to participants in the second quartile of CAR, those in the highest quartile had a 49% increased risk of fragility fractures (HR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.21-1.84) after adjusting for risk factors. Restricted cubic spline analysis showed a nonlinear relationship between CAR and the risk of fragility fractures. The C-index, continuous NRI, and IDI for predicting the risk of fragility fractures were 61.142%, 0.089 (p < 0.05), and 0.00009 (p < 0.05), respectively, which were higher than those of hs-CRP (C-index 0.6137, NRI 0.086, IDI 0.000074) and albumin (C- index 0.6116, NRI 0.068, IDI - 0.000004).

CONCLUSION

Elevated levels of CAR were associated with an increased risk of fragility fractures and that this association was robust to adjustment for multiple potential confounders.

Association of easy albumin-bilirubin score with increased mortality in adult trauma patients

INTRODUCTION

The easy albumin-bilirubin (EZ-ALBI) score is calculated using the equation: total bilirubin (mg/dl) - 9 × albumin (g/dl), and is used to evaluate liver functional reserve. This study was designed to investigate whether the EZ-ALBI score serves as an independent risk factor for mortality and is useful for stratifying the mortality risk in adult trauma patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed data from the registered trauma database of the hospital and included 3,637 adult trauma patients (1,241 deaths and 2,396 survivors) due to all trauma caused between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2021. The patients were allocated to the two study groups based on the best EZ-ALBI cutoff point (EZ-ALBI = -28.5), which was determined based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

Results revealed that the non-survivors had a significantly higher EZ-ALBI score than the survivors (-26.4 ± 6.5 vs. -31.5 ± 6.2, p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that EZ-ALBI ≥ -28.5was an independent risk factor for mortality (odds ratio, 2.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.63-3.28; p < 0.001). Patients with an EZ-ALBI score ≥ -28.5 presented with 2.47-fold higher adjusted mortality rates than patients with an EZ-ALBI score < -28.5. A propensity score-matched pair cohort of 1,236 patients was developed to reduce baseline disparities in trauma mechanisms. The analysis showed that patients with an EZ-ALBI score ≥ -28.5 had a 4.12 times higher mortality rate compared to patients with an EZ-ALBI score < -28.5.

CONCLUSION

The EZ-ALBI score was a significant independent risk factor for mortality and can serve as a valuable tool for stratifying mortality risk in adult trauma patients by all trauma causes.

Association between amino acids and recent osteoporotic fracture: a matched incident case-control study

Context

Osteoporotic fracture is a major public health issue globally. Human research on the association between amino acids (AAs) and fracture is still lacking.

Objective

To examine the association between AAs and recent osteoporotic fractures.

Methods

This age and sex matched incident case-control study identified 44 recent x-ray confirmed fracture cases in the Second Hospital of Jilin University and 88 community-based healthy controls aged 50+ years. Plasma AAs were measured by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. After adjusting for covariates (i.e., body mass index, milk intake >1 time/week, falls and physical activity), we conducted conditional logistical regression models to test the association between AAs and fracture.

Results

Among cases there were 23 (52.3%) hip fractures and 21 (47.7%) non-hip fractures. Total, essential, and non-essential AAs were significantly lower in cases than in controls. In the multivariable conditional logistic regression models, after adjusting for covariates, each standard deviation increase in the total (odds ratio [OR]: 0.304; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.117-0.794), essential (OR: 0.408; 95% CI: 0.181-0.923) and non-essential AAs (OR: 0.290; 95%CI: 0.107-0.782) was negatively associated with recent fracture. These inverse associations were mainly found for hip fracture, rather than non-hip fractures. Among these AAs, lysine, alanine, arginine, glutamine, histidine and piperamide showed the significantly negative associations with fracture.

Conclusion

There was a negative relationship between AAs and recent osteoporotic fracture; such relationship appeared to be more obvious for hip fracture.

The Effect of Postoperative Physical Therapy Following Hip Fracture: A Literature Review

Hip fractures in the elderly have become a major public health concern as the population ages. Post-operative rehabilitation is associated with improved outcomes and a greater likelihood of returning to pre-operative functional capacity. Several studies have been conducted to investigate various post-operative recovery pathways. However, little is known about which post-operative rehabilitation pathways for hip fractures are most effective in improving patient outcomes. No clear evidence-based guidelines for a standard mobilization protocol for patients are currently available. This review aims to investigate post-operative recovery pathways to help patients suffering from hip fracture return to pre-fracture condition and to quantify pre-operative and post-operative scores for objective rehabilitation evaluation. Measuring pre-operative activity and comparing it to post-operative follow-up values can help predict post-operative rehabilitation functional outcomes.

Pre-operative Factors Predicting Mortality in Six Months and Functional Recovery in Elderly Patients with Hip Fractures

Introduction

This study aimed to determine on-admission and perioperative factors predicting six-month mortality and functional recovery in Vietnamese patients with hip fracture.

Materials and methods

Between April 2020 and July 2021, 118 patients participated in this prospective study. Patients' data were collected from medical records. Harris hip score (HHS) was used to evaluate the functional recovery six months after fractures. The obtained data were analysed using a univariate and multivariate model.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 79.5±9.4 years and 68.6% of the patients were female. The six-month mortality rate was 5.9% and independently associated with age (odds ratio (OR): 3.512, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.538 - 8.019; P<0.001, patients aged >80 years vs those aged ≤80 years) and hypoproteinemia (OR: 2.859, 95% CI: 1.001 - 8.166, P=0.049). Among 111 survivors there were 66 (59.5%) of patients with a good functional recovery. Patients aged >80 years had a higher risk of poor functional outcome (OR: 3.167, 95% CI: 1.386 - 7.235, P: 0.006) compared to those aged ≤ 80 years. No significant correlations between other clinical (gender, body mass index, comorbidities, type of fractures or surgery, time until surgery) or laboratory parameters (anaemia, hyperglycemia, marked elevation of C reactive protein level, electrolyte abnormalities, elevated urea) and mortality or functional outcome were found.

Conclusion

Advanced age is the most important factor affecting both mortality and functional outcome while hypoproteinemia is associated with a higher risk of mortality in elderly patients with hip fractures.

Risk factors for postoperative mortality at 30 days in elderly Chinese patients with hip fractures

Arrhythmia, pneumonia, cardiac insufficiency, a high leukocyte count, and low albumin concentrations were associated with increased 30-day mortality in elderly hip fracture patients after surgery. It is important to improve short-term survival rates by optimizing the respiratory and cardiac function of geriatric patients before they undergo surgery.

INTRODUCTION

This study aims to investigate the 30-day mortality and related risk factors for elderly patients following surgery for hip fractures.

METHODS

This retrospective study examined chart reviews for evaluating associations of gender, age, fracture site, biochemical indicators, pre-surgery comorbidities, number of pre-surgery comorbidities, time to surgery and anesthesia and surgery methods with postoperative 30-day mortality in elderly hip fracture surgery patients.

RESULTS

A total of 1,004 patients were included in the study and 43 (4.3%) patients died within 30 days after surgery. Univariate analysis showed that patients in the non-survival group had a higher mean age, higher leukocyte counts, lower hemoglobin and albumin levels, a higher proportion of arrhythmias, pneumoniae and cardiac insufficiency and number of presurgical comorbidities than the survival group (all P-values < 0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis further confirmed that arrhythmia (OR = 2.033, P = 0.038), pneumonia (OR = 2.246, P = 0.041), cardiac insufficiency (OR = 2.833, P = 0.029), high leukocyte count (OR = 1.139, P = 0.009), and low albumin (OR = 0.925, P = 0.041) were all significant risk factors for mortality 30 days after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that arrhythmia, pneumonia, cardiac insufficiency, a high leukocyte count, and low albumin concentrations were associated with increased 30-day mortality in elderly hip fracture patients after surgery.

Preoperative hypoalbuminemia: Poor functional outcomes and quality of life after hip fracture surgery

AIMS

Hip fracture patients have severe deterioration of their quality of life and function after their injury. Markers of malnutrition such as low albumin and low body mass index (BMI) have been shown to increase mortality and complication rates but their effect on recovery of quality of life and function after hip fracture surgery is unclear. The main aim of this paper is to further investigate if low albumin affects recovery after hip fracture surgery, while additionally studying low BMI as a possible risk factor for poor recovery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective analysis of 971 patients who underwent surgery for fragility hip fractures between January 2012 and December 2016 was performed. Demographic data, preoperative serum albumin and haemoglobin levels, BMI, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), type of surgery (fixation vs replacement) and site of surgery were obtained. Patients were assessed using the Parker Mobility Scale (PMS), Harris Hip Score(HHS), Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF36) at pre-fracture, 6 weeks and 6 months after surgery. HHS was not available pre-operatively. Patients were grouped according to their albumin levels (low ≤35 g/L or normal) and BMI (underweight <18.5 or normal). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to examine the association between albumin and BMI and 6-month scores.

RESULTS

On univariate analysis, patients with low albumin ≤35 g/L had lower baseline PMS and SF36 Physical Functioning (PF) score. On multivariate analysis, preoperative hypoalbuminemia was associated with lower 6-month HHS, PMS and SF36 PF scores even after accounting for baseline scores and other confounders. BMI had no effect on 6-month scores.

CONCLUSION

Low albumin (≤35 g/L) is prevalent in elderly hip fracture patients and is associated with slower recovery of function and quality of life after surgery. Low albumin can be a useful prognostic tool to identify patients with poor recovery for further intervention or rehabilitation after hip fracture surgery.

The Prognostic Value of Metabolic Profiling in Older Patients With a Proximal Femoral Fracture

Introduction:

High mortality rates of approximately 20% within 1 year after treatment are observed for patients with proximal femoral fractures. This preliminary study explores the prognostic value of a previously constructed mortality risk score based on a set of 14 metabolites for the survival and functional recovery in patients with proximal femoral fractures.

Materials and Methods:

A prospective observational cohort study was conducted including patients admitted with a proximal femoral fracture. The primary outcome was patient survival, and the recovery of independence in activities of daily living was included as a secondary outcome. The mortality risk score was constructed for each patient and its prognostic value was tested for the whole population.

Results:

Data was available form 136 patients. The mean age of all patients was 82.1 years, with a median follow-up of 6 months. Within this period, 19.0% of all patients died and 51.1% recovered to their prefracture level of independence. The mortality score was significantly associated with mortality (HR, 2.74; 95% CI, 1.61-4.66; P < 0.001), but showed only a fair prediction accuracy (AUC = 0.68) and a borderline significant comparison of the mortality score tertile groups in survival analyses (P = 0.049). No decisive associations were found in any of the analyses for the functional recovery of patients.

Discussion:

These findings support the previously determined prognostic value of the mortality risk score. However, the independent prognostic value when adjusted for potential confounding factors is yet to be assessed. Also, a risk score constructed for this specific patient population might achieve higher accuracies for the prediction of survival and functional recovery.

Conclusions:

A modest prediction accuracy was observed for the mortality risk score in this population. More elaborate studies are needed to validate these findings and develop a tailored model for clinical purposes in this patient population.

Holistic Management of Older Patients With Hip Fractures

As the silver tsunami hits the world, older patients with hip fractures are expected to increase to 6.3 million by the year 2050, of which the majority will occur in Asia. The estimated global cost of hip fractures in the year 2050 is estimated to reach U.S. $130 billion. Hence, in addition to implementation of prevention strategies, it is important to develop an optimal model of care for older patients with hip fracture to minimize the huge medical and socioeconomic burden, especially in rapidly aging nations. This review summarizes the complications of hip fractures, importance of comprehensive geriatric assessment, and multidisciplinary rehabilitation, as well as predictors of rehabilitation outcome in older patients with hip fracture.

Risk Factors for Functional Outcomes of the Elderly with Intertrochanteric Fracture: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective

To identify baseline factors relevant to functional outcomes and health‐related quality of life in the elderly with intertrochanteric fractures.

Methods

For the present study, 168 patients with intertrochanteric fracture who were assigned to different treatments between January 2016 and December 2017 were retrospectively selected. Hip function was assessed by Harris hip score (HHS), and health‐related quality of life was evaluated by Barthel index (BI) of activities of daily living (ADL) and EuroQol 5‐dimensions (EQ‐5D) score, respectively. Data were analyzed by t‐test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, χ²‐test, and multivariate linear regression.

Results

A total of 164 (97.6%) patients completed the follow‐up, with an average follow‐up time of 15.7 ± 6.9 months; 39 (23.8%) patients died during the follow‐up period and 125 (76.2%) patients were eligible for the functional analysis. HHS at final follow‐up of 125 patients was 71.8 ± 13.1, and the following were associated with hip functional recovery: age (−0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.73 to −0.18, P < 0.01), serum albumin (0.65, 95% CI 0.04 to 1.27, P < 0.05), and ADL at discharge (0.18, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.33, P < 0.05). The Barthel index at final follow up in this cohort was 80.2 ± 18.1, and multivariable linear regression analysis showed that age (−0.49, 95% CI −0.85 to −0.12; P < 0.05), ADL score at discharge (0.29, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.51; P < 0.05) and internal fixation (16.3, 95% CI 3.3 to 29.3; P < 0.05) were associated with ADL at final follow‐up. EQ‐5D at final follow‐up was 0.74 ± 0.2, with which HHS (0.012, 95% CI 0.011 to 0.013; P < 0.01) was positively associated.

Conclusion

We identify several baseline factors associated with hip functional outcome, health utility, and ADL in the elderly after an intertrochanteric fracture, of which we could modify mutable factors to achieve better outcomes. These findings could help to inform treatment and functional prognosis.

Predictors of poor functional outcomes and mortality in patients with hip fracture: a systematic review

Background

Hip fracture is an important and prevalent medical condition associated with adverse outcomes. The aim of this article is to systematically review and summarise the predictors of poor functional outcomes and mortality for patients with hip fractures.

Methods

We conducted a systemic literature search using PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. We included English peer-reviewed cohort studies that examined predictors of poor functional outcomes (such as independence in Activities of Daily Living) and mortality for patients with hip fracture published in the past 15 years (from 1 Jan 2004 up to 30 May 2019). Two independent researchers evaluated the articles for eligibility. Consensus on the eligibility was sought and a third researcher was involved if there was disagreement. A standardised form was used to extract relevant data. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the included studies.

Results

We retrieved 4339 and included 81 articles. We identified two emerging predictors of poor functional outcomes and mortality for patients with hip fractures: low hand grip strength and frailty in line with an emerging concept of “physical performance”. The predictors identified in this systematic review can be grouped into 1) medical factors, such as presence of co-morbidities, high American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, sarcopenia, 2) surgical factors including delay in operation (e.g. > 48 h), type of fracture s, 3) socio-economic factors which include age, gender, ethnicity, and 4) system factors including lower case-volume centers.

Conclusions

This systematic review identified multiple significant predictors of poor functional outcomes and mortality, with the hand grip strength and frailty being important emerging predictors in the most recent literature. These predictors would further inform healthcare providers of their patients’ health status and allow for early intervention for modifiable predictors.

Supplemented amino acids may enhance the walking recovery of elderly subjects after hip fracture surgery

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether supplemented essential amino acids (EAAs) could enhance rehabilitation therapy (Rehab) for recovery of walking capacity in subjects after hip fracture surgery (HFS). Eighty-three elderly subjects with HFS (20 ± 11 days after acute trauma) were eligible for the study and randomized to receive Rehab only (Rehab; n = 27), Rehab + placebo (RP; n = 28) or Rehab + EAAs (RE 8 g/day; n = 28). The patients' walking capacity (m) was measured by 6-min walking distance (6MWD) at admission and at discharge (median 66 days after admission). All patient groups were treated with the same Rehab (2 sessions/day × 5 days/week). The results showed that the gain in 6MWD was higher in RE than in Rehab and RP (p = 0.034; p = 0.024). The study shows that EAA supplementation can enhance walking recovery rate in subjects with HFS.

Prognostic factors of functional outcome after hip fracture surgery: a systematic review

Objective

this systematic review aimed to identify immutable and modifiable prognostic factors of functional outcomes and their proposed mechanism after hip fracture surgery.

Design

systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PEDRO, OpenGrey and ClinicalTrials.gov for observational studies of prognostic factors of functional outcome after hip fracture among surgically treated adults with mean age of 65 years and older. Study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction were completed independently by two reviewers. The Quality in Prognosis Studies Tool was used for quality assessment and assigning a level of evidence to factors. Proposed mechanisms for reported associations were extracted from discussion sections.

Results

from 33 studies of 9,552 patients, we identified 25 prognostic factors of functional outcome after hip fracture surgery. We organised factors into groups: demographics, injury and comorbidities, body composition, complications, and acute care. We assigned two factors a weak evidence level-anaemia and cognition. We assigned Parkinson's disease an inconclusive evidence level. We could not assign an evidence level to the remaining 22 factors due to the high risk of bias across studies. Frailty was the proposed mechanism for the association between anaemia and functional outcome. Medication management, perceived potential, complications and time to mobility were proposed as mechanisms for the association between cognition and functional outcome.

Conclusion

we identified one modifiable and one immutable prognostic factor for functional outcomes after hip fracture surgery. Future research may target patients with anaemia or cognitive impairment by intervening on the prognostic factor or the underlying mechanisms.

Despite Inflammation, Supplemented Essential Amino Acids May Improve Circulating Levels of Albumin and Haemoglobin in Patients after Hip Fractures

Essential amino acids (EAAs) are nutritional substrates that promote body protein synthesis; thus we hypothesised that their supplementation may improve circulating albumin (Alb) and haemoglobin (Hb) in rehabilitative elderly patients following hip fractures (HF). Out of the 145 HF patients originally enrolled in our study, 112 completed the protocol. These subjects were divided into two randomised groups, each containing 56 patients. For a period of two months, one group (age 81.4 ± 8.1 years; male/female 27/29) received a placebo, and the other (age 83.1 ± 7.5 years; male/female 25/31) received 4 + 4 g/day oral EAAs. At admission, the prevalence of both hypoAlb (<3.5 g/dL) and hypoHb (<13 g/dL male, <12 g/dL female) was similar in the placebo group (64.3% hypoAlb, 66% hypoHb) and the treated group of patients (73.2% hypoAlb, 67.8% hypoHb). At discharge, however, the prevalence of hypoAlb had reduced more in EAAs than in placebo subjects (31.7% in EAAs vs. 77.8% in placebo; p < 0.001). There was a 34.2% reduction of anaemia in hypoHb in EAA subjects and 18.9% in placebo subjects, but the difference was not statistically significant. Oral supplementation of EAAs improves hypoAlb and, to a lesser extent, Hb in elderly rehabilitative subjects with hip fractures. Anaemia was reduced in more than one third of patients, which, despite not being statistically significant, may be clinically relevant.

Association of anemia and hypoalbuminemia in German geriatric inpatients: Relationship to nutritional status and comprehensive geriatric assessment

BACKGROUND

Anemia and hypoalbuminemia (HA) are acknowledged independent risk factors for morbidity and mortality in geriatric patients and are associated with nutritional status and frailty. Data exist regarding the association between albumin and frailty, anemia and frailty as well as frailty and nutritional status; however, there is a lack of information on the association between HA, anemia and nutritional status in older people.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This study retrospectively analyzed 626 patients admitted to a German geriatrics department (average age 81.1 years, 68.2% female and 31.8% male) for anemia and HA. Data from the comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and from the mini-nutritional assessment (MNA) were available in all patients.

RESULTS

Patients with anemia suffered significantly more often from HA (p<0.001) than patients without anemia, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.99 (95% confidence interval CI: 1.2-3.2) and of 5.41 (CI 95%: 2.3-12.6) in patients at risk for malnutrition and in malnourished patients, respectively. A moderately significant association was seen between hemoglobin (Hb) and albumin values (Pearson's correlation r=0.330; p<0.001) as well as between albumin values and the Barthel index (Spearman's correlation r=0.210; p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Anemia appears to be a risk factor for HA in inpatients with malnutrition and the observed association between albumin and Hb warrants further research. Geriatric inpatients with anemia should be evaluated in terms of the presence of malnutrition risk and HA.

Serum albumin and health in older people: Review and meta analysis

Albumin is the most abundant plasmatic protein. It is only produced by the liver and the full extent of its metabolic functions is not known in detail. One of the main roles assigned to albumin is as an indicator of malnutrition. There are many factors, in addition to nutrition, that influence levels of albumin in plasma. The main aim of this review is to assess the clinical significance of albumin in elderly people in the community, in hospital and in care homes. Following the review, it can be stated that age is not a cause of hypoalbuminemia. Albumin is a good marker of nutritional status in clinically stable people. Significant loss of muscle mass has been observed in elderly people with low albumin levels. Hypoalbuminemia is a mortality prognostic factor in elderly people, whether they live in the community or they are in hospital or institutionalized. Low levels of albumin are associated to worse recovery following acute pathologies. Inflammatory state and, particularly, high concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-alpha, are two of the main influencing factors of hypoalbuminemia. In elderly patients with a hip fracture, albumin levels below 38 g/L are associated to a higher risk of post-surgery complications, especially infections. Further research is needed on the impact of nutritional intervention upon albumin levels and on the outcomes in elderly people in the community, in hospital and in care.

Serum albumin levels and 10-year tooth loss in a 70-year-old population

Serum albumin levels are a practical marker of general health status in the elderly and have been used to determine the severity of underlying diseases and the risk for death. This longitudinal study evaluated the relationship between serum albumin concentrations and tooth loss over 10 years in elderly subjects, after controlling for confounding factors. A sample of 554 dentate subjects among enrolled subjects (n = 600) was involved in this planned longitudinal study with follow-up examinations after 5 and 10 years. At the 5-year follow-up, 373 (67·3%), subjects were available for re-examination. In addition, 331 (59·7%) were available at the 10-year follow-up. Multiple Poisson regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the number of missing teeth over 5 or 10 years and serum albumin levels at baseline after adjusting for 10 variables: gender, serum markers levels at baseline, dental status, smoking habits and educational years and oral health behaviour. The number of missing teeth over 5 or 10 years was significantly negatively associated with serum albumin levels at baseline [incidence rate ratios (IRR) = 0·373, P < 0·0001 for 5 years; IRR = 0·570, P < 0·0001 for 10 years]. We conclude that elderly subjects with hypoalbuminemia are at high risk for 5- and 10-year tooth loss.

Relationship between admission albumin levels and rehabilitation outcomes in older patients

The relationship between serum albumin level and rehabilitation outcome in older patients has not been fully explored. This study investigated this association in older Chinese patients. We studied 1604 patients in two geriatric convalescence hospitals. Admission albumin levels (g/l) were measured and segregated into three groups: <30 g/l; 30 to <35 g/l; ≥35 g/l. Absolute functional and motor gain were determined by Barthel index (BI) and elderly mobility scale (EMS) and expressed as BI efficacy and EMS efficacy. BI and EMS efficiency were deduced by the efficacy divided by the length of hospital stay (LOS). Satisfactory motor and functional outcomes were defined as discharge EMS≥15 and BI≥75. Significant improvement in EMS and BI scores across all 3 albumin groups on discharge was observed, with lower scores in low albumin groups. The EMS and BI efficacy were the same in 3 albumin groups. However, EMS and BI efficiency were higher in the high albumin groups. Admission albumin was not independent predictors for satisfactory motor and functional outcomes. For satisfactory motor outcome (EMS≥15), female gender (p=0.0004), age (p=0.0009) and urinary incontinence (p=0.0076) were negative predictors while living at home (p=0.0028), admission EMS (p<0.001) and BI score (p=0.0004) were positive predictors. For satisfactory functional outcome (BI≥75), age (p=0.015) and urinary incontinence (p<0.001) were negative predictors while female gender (p=0.0024), LOS (p=0.033), C-MMSE (p<0.001), admission EMS (p=0.003) and BI (p<0.001) were positive predictors. Admission albumin levels were related to functional and motor efficiency, but not with absolute functional and motor gain. Albumin was not an independent predictor for satisfactory motor and functional outcome.

Elevated serum PTH is independently associated with poor outcomes in older patients with hip fracture and vitamin D inadequacy

To determine whether serum 25(OH)D and/or PTH levels in older patients with hip fracture (HF) could predict short-term clinical outcomes, we conducted a prospective observational study of 287 consecutive HF patients (mean age 81.9 + or - 7.5 [SD] years, 72% females). The prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy (25[OH]D < 80 nmol/l) was 97.1%, that of vitamin D deficiency (25[OH]D < 50 nmol/l) was 79.8%, and that of elevated PTH level (>6.8 pmol/l) was 35.5%. After adjustment for age and sex, PTH was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 10.5-1.20, P < 0.001), myocardial injury (OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.15, P = 0.002), prolonged length of stay (LOS > or = 20 days; OR = 1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.06, P = 0.044), and being discharged to institutional care (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.18, P = 0.48). Secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT), but not vitamin D deficiency, was associated with older age, a higher prevalence of trochanteric fracture, coronary artery disease, hypertension, previous stroke, renal impairment, increased levels of serum osteocalcin, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, and adiponectin as well as a significantly higher in-hospital mortality (11.8 vs. 0.54%, P = 0.001), perioperative myocardial injury (32.7 vs. 22.5%, P = 0.043), LOS > or = 20 days (40.2 vs. 26.9%, P = 0.017), and being discharged to institutional care (29.5 vs. 14.6%, P = 0.019). In multivariate regression analyses, SHPT was strongly associated with in-hospital mortality and LOS > or = 20 days. We conclude that elevated PTH (but not vitamin D deficiency per se) is a strong independent predictor of poor outcomes in older patients.

Serum albumin and total lymphocyte count as predictors of outcome in hip fractures

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Hip fractures are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in the elderly. Malnutrition is a significant contributor to this, however no consensus exists as to the detection or management of this condition. We hypothesise that results of admission serum albumin and total lymphocyte count (TLC), as markers of Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) can help predict clinical outcome in hip fracture patients aged over 60 years.

METHODS

This retrospective study evaluated the nutritional status of patients with hip fractures using albumin and TLC assays and analysed their prognostic relevance. Clinical outcome parameters studied were delay to operation, duration of in-patient stay, re-admission and in-patient, 3- and 12-month mortality.

RESULTS

Four hundred and fifteen hip fracture patients were evaluated. Survival data were available for 377 patients at 12 months. In-hospital mortality for PEM patients was 9.8%, compared with 0% for patients without. Patients with PEM had a higher 12-month mortality compared to patients who had normal values of both laboratory parameters (Odds Ratio 4.6; 95% CI: 1.0-21.3). Serum albumin (Hazard Ratio 0.932, 95% CI: 0.9-1.0) and age (Hazard Ratio 1.04, 95% CI: 1.0-1.1) were found to be significant independent prognostic factors of mortality by Cox regression analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight the relevance of assessing the nutritional status of patients with hip fractures at the time of admission and emphasises the correlation between PEM and outcome in these patients.