A national study of 23 major trauma centres to investigate the effect of a geriatrician assessment on clinical outcomes in older people admitted with serious injury in England (FiTR 2): a multicentre observational cohort study

Aliphatic-acid coating and nano chitosan nucleator synergistically regulate the performance of PMMA "bone-Locking" foam dressing used for emergency fixation of clavicle fracture

Clavicle emergency fixation can prevent fractured end from piercing heart and lung organs, which is crucial for wounded life. Clavicle with complex structure, great individual differences, and adjacent to important organs, which places high-requirements on performance of fixation materials. Developing advanced clavicle fixation material is a prominent hot-topic in the field of emergency-engineering. We prepared a Polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) "bone-Locking" foam dressing via novel polymer foaming process. Innovatively used aliphatic-acid and bio-polar macromolecule nanoparticles to adjust structure in non-traditional self-curing polymer melts to achieve high-performance. Stearic acid coating was prepared on the surface of foaming agent can delay nucleation period, increasing the initial Polymer-Bubble interface viscosity and effectively retard nuclei growth and escape. Nano-chitosan was compounded synchronously to induce in-situ nucleation and construct polar hydrogen bonds between chains, improve the crystallinity of PMMA matrix, reduce the relaxation ability of PMMA molecular chains and increase the interface viscosity again to inhibit nuclei growth and escape, realizing spontaneous coordination between viscosity and the bubble holes formation process. Obtained high-performance foam with uniform and regular bubble holes structure eventually. More, Dynamic Dual-Variable Field Bubble-Growth Dynamics was proposed, revealing the Bubble-Growth behavior synergistic driven by Viscosity and Temperature theoretically, providing reference for improving theory in polymer foaming field. Prepared foam dressing can be directly and softly coated on clavicle and spontaneously conform to the contour of clavicle with remarkable precision, then quickly (3.5 min) curing into a lightweight (0.57 g/cm3), high-strength (40.5 MPa), breathable (224.73 mm/s) "Armor", showing great application value in wound emergency engineering. The developed foaming method and theory provide technical and theoretical value for polymer foaming system. The foam dressing provides a promising new scheme for fixing various wound sites and ensuring the life safety of the wounded at the emergency scene.

Frailty for neurologists: perspectives on how frailty influences care planning

The concept of frailty, now being adopted in most medical disciplines, is attracting growing interest in neurology. Every day, most neurologists care for patients with varying degrees of frailty, from very mild to very severe. Frailty exacerbates patients' health needs, complicates clinical decision making, and negatively affects their health outcomes. Increasing evidence suggests that frailty affects the risk, clinical presentation, and course of common age-related neurological disorders, including dementia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis. Most neurologists should become familiar with assessing and measuring frailty. Doing so can provide information that is crucial for diagnosis, prognostication, and care planning. Consideration of frailty can help to elucidate the pathophysiological underpinnings of age-related neurological disorders, clarify the clinical validity and utility of candidate biomarkers, and identify novel therapeutic targets. Randomised controlled trials investigating late-life neurological diseases that address frailty have the potential to provide insight into these complex disorders.

Clinical prediction models for the management of blunt chest trauma in the emergency department: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate how clinical prediction models compare in terms of their methodological development, validation, and predictive capabilities, for patients with blunt chest trauma presenting to the Emergency Department.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted across databases from 1st Jan 2000 until 1st April 2024. Studies were categorised into three types of multivariable prediction research and data extracted regarding methodological issues and the predictive capabilities of each model. Risk of bias and applicability were assessed.

RESULTS

41 studies were included that discussed 22 different models. The most commonly observed study design was a single-centre, retrospective, chart review. The most widely externally validated clinical prediction models with moderate to good discrimination were the Thoracic Trauma Severity Score and the STUMBL Score.

DISCUSSION

This review demonstrates that the predictive ability of some of the existing clinical prediction models is acceptable, but high risk of bias and lack of subsequent external validation limits the extensive application of the models. The Thoracic Trauma Severity Score and STUMBL Score demonstrate better predictive accuracy in both development and external validation studies than the other models, but require recalibration and / or update and evaluation of their clinical and cost effectiveness.

REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO database ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=351638 ).

A multicentre survey investigating the knowledge, behaviour, and attitudes of surgical healthcare professionals to frailty assessment in emergency surgery: DEFINE(surgery)

PURPOSE

Screening for frailty in people admitted with emergency surgical pathology can initiate timely referrals to enhanced perioperative services such as intensive care and geriatric medicine. However, there has been little research exploring surgical healthcare professionals' opinions to frailty assessment, or accuracy in identification. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, behaviour, and attitudes of healthcare professionals to frailty assessment in emergency surgical admissions.

METHODS

We designed a cross-sectional multicentre study developed by a multiprofessional team of surgeons, geriatricians, and supported by patients. A semi-structured survey examined attitudes and behaviours. Knowledge was assessed by comparing respondents' accuracy in scoring twenty-two surgical case vignettes using the Clinical Frailty Scale.

RESULTS

Eleven hospitals across England, Wales, and Scotland participated. Two hundred and eleven clinicians responded-20.4% junior doctors, 43.6% middle grade doctors, 24.2% senior doctors, 11.4% nurses and physician associates. Respondents strongly supported perioperative frailty assessment. Most were already assessing for frailty, although frequently not using a standardised tool. There was a strong call for more frailty education. Participants scored 2175 vignettes with 55.4% accurately meeting the gold standard; accuracy improved to 87.3% when categorised into "not frail/mildly frail/severely frail" and 94% when dichotomised to "not frail/frail".

CONCLUSION

Frailty assessment is well supported by healthcare professionals working in surgery. However, standardised tools are not routinely being used, and only half of respondents could accurately identify frailty. Better education around frailty assessment is needed for healthcare professionals working in surgery to improve perioperative pathway for people living with frailty.

Frailty Is More Predictive of Mortality than Age in Patients With Hip Fractures

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association between the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment-based Frailty Index and adverse outcomes in older adult patients undergoing hip fracture surgery.

METHODS

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Academic Level 1 Trauma Center.

PATIENTS

All patients aged 65 or older who underwent surgical repair of a hip fracture between May 2018 and August 2020 were identified through institutional database review.

OUTCOME MEASURES AND COMPARISONS

Data including demographics, FI, injury presentation, and hospital course were collected. Patients were grouped by FI as nonfrail (FI < 0.21), frail (0.21 ≤ FI < 0.45), and severely frail (FI > 0.45). Adverse outcomes of these groups were compared using Kaplan Meier survival analysis. Risk factors for 1-year rehospitalization and 2-year mortality were evaluated using Cox hazard regression.

RESULTS

Three hundred sixteen patients were included, with 62 nonfrail, 185 frail, and 69 severely frail patients. The total population was on average 83.8 years old, predominantly white (88.0%), and majority female (69.9%) with an average FI of 0.33 (SD: 0.14). The nonfrail cohort was on average 78.8 years old, 93.6% white, and 80.7% female; the frail cohort was on average 84.5 years old, 92.4% white, and 71.9% female; and the severely frail cohort was on average 86.4 years old, 71.0% white, and 55.1% female. Rate of 1-year readmission increased with frailty level, with a rate of 38% in nonfrail patients, 55.6% in frail patients, and 74.2% in severely frail patients (P = 0.001). The same pattern was seen in 2-year mortality rates, with a rate of 2.8% in nonfrail patients, 36.7% in frail patients, and 77.5% in severely frail patients (P < 0.0001). Being classified as frail or severely frail exhibited greater association with mortality within 2 years than age, with hazard ratio of 17.81 for frail patients and 56.81 for severely frail patients compared with 1.19 per 5 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased frailty as measured by the Frailty Index is significantly associated with increased 2-year mortality and 1-year hospital readmission rates after hip fracture surgery. Degree of frailty predicts mortality more strongly than age alone. Assessing frailty with the Frailty Index can identify higher-risk surgical candidates, facilitate clinical decision making, and guide discussions about goals of care with family members, surgeons, and geriatricians.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Frailty is associated with long-term outcomes in older trauma patients: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Most major trauma admissions are older adults, many of whom are living with frailty - a recognised risk factor for post-injury mortality.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the effect of frailty, and geriatrician review on mortality up to 4-years after hospitalisation following trauma.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study included patients 65 years or older admitted to North Bristol NHS Trusts' Major Trauma Centre from November 2018 to September 2019. The primary outcome was time-to-mortality, assessed with an adjusted multivariable Cox regression model. Analyses were adjusted for factors known to be associated with mortality including age, sex, comorbidities, injury factors, surgical procedure, and complications.

RESULTS

573 patients were included: median age was 81 years; 67.5 % were living with frailty (Clinical Frailty Scale, CFS 4-8). Mortality was 45.2 % at the end of the study. Compared to fit patients (CFS 1-2), risk of death increased in those living with very mild frailty (CFS 4; aHR 3.22 [95 % CI 1.53-6.77]), mild frailty (CFS 5; aHR 4.97 [95 % CI 2.40-10.28]), moderate frailty (CFS 6; aHR 5.94 [95 % CI 2.83-12.44]), and moderate to severe frailty (CFS 7-8; aHR 9.63 [95 % CI 4.35-21.32]). Geriatrician review was associated with less mortality (aHR 0.55, 95 % CI 0.38-0.79).

CONCLUSIONS

Frailty predicts long-term mortality in older trauma. Our findings have implications for clinician-patient discussions of prognosis and therapy goals. Furthermore, our results lend support to the routine provision of geriatrician input in trauma pathways.

Trauma in the elderly: a bilateral rectus sheath haematoma

Life expectancy has more than doubled in the last century, and a new cohort of elderly and increasingly frail patients is presenting to emergency departments with new clinical challenges. When this patient cohort presents after injury, all aspects of clinical practice have to be recalibrated to provide safe and appropriate care. The prevalence of chronic disease, levels of organ failure, multiple comorbidities, greater use of anticoagulation and incidence of recurrent low- and high-impact trauma may delay and obscure diagnosis and, ultimately, increase mortality.Older age is a risk factor for rectus sheath haematoma (RSH), which is haemorrhage into the potential space surrounding the rectus abdominis muscle/s. It is a rare presentation following trauma but can provide diagnostic challenges and be fatal. Even more rare is bilateral RSH with only 12 reported in the literature since 1981.This case report describes bilateral RSH presenting in an elderly woman following a fall and the consequences of seemingly minor trauma in the elderly.

Epidemiology of major trauma in older adults within Scotland: A national perspective from the Scottish Trauma Audit Group (STAG)

BACKGROUND

Major trauma in older adults (MTOA) poses distinctive health and social care challenges, further underlined by the unique socioeconomic and geographical environment of Scotland. This study provides epidemiological trends of MTOA, to provide insight into areas where further evaluation and research are required.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pseudonymised aggregated demographic, injury and outcome data from 2011 to 2020 were obtained from the Scottish Trauma Audit Group (STAG) Database, covering 28 hospitals across Scotland. Only individuals age ≥ 70 with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) > 15 were included.

RESULTS

There was an average of 216 annual cases of MTOA, with a 259 % rise in incidence from 2011 to 2020. This was predominantly driven by a rise in low velocity trauma (fall <2 m height; 287 % increase). The proportion of all major trauma attributable to those aged ≥70 rose from 18.5 % in 2011 to 34.6 % in 2020. Death censored median (IQR) acute hospital length of stay was 18 days (9-30). Overall, 30-day survival was 65.3 %, with no improvement seen between 2011 and 2020 (p = 0.50). Independent predictors of improved 30-day survival included Ages 70-79 & 80-89 [compared to reference ≥ 90] (OR 3.12; 95 %CI 2.24,4.31; p < 0.001 and OR 1.66; 95 %CI 1.21,2.29; p = 0.002 respectively), and Extremity injury (OR 1.89; 95 %CI 1.48,2.41; p < 0.001). Head injury (OR 0.72; 95 %CI 0.54,0.96; p = 0.027) and increasing ISS score (OR 0.88, 95 %CI 0.86,0.89; p < 0.001) were associated with lower likelihood of 30-day survival. A further model also including the admission ward (from eSTAG data November 2017 onwards) demonstrated an association with reduced 30-day survival with admission to General Surgery (OR 0.42; 95 %CI 0.19,0.93; p = 0.033), Intensive Care (OR 0.25; 95 %CI 0.10,0.60; p = 0.002) and Medical Specialities (OR 0.33; 95 %CI 0.15,0.73; p = 0.007) compared to the reference (Major Trauma). Exponential Smoothing predictions revealed a further potential 184 % rise in incidence of MTOA from 2021 to 2030 (3657 per 100,000 population at risk to 10,392 per 100,000 population at risk).

CONCLUSION

MTOA is likely to be a rising health care burden, requiring larger quantities of health and social care resource. Urgent preventative strategies are required to reduce low velocity trauma (standing height falls), as well as the high mortality and morbidity of MTOA.

Patients undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty who require early return to theatre have early increased mortality and worse functional outcomes at short term follow-up

BACKGROUND

Re-operation following hip hemiarthroplasty is potentially devastating due to a frail, co-morbid surgical cohort. We aimed to assess the outcomes of patients who required early return to theatre (RTT) within 30 days of index operation in a high-volume hip fracture unit.

METHODS

A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database was undertaken. All hip hemiarthroplasties performed between 1st January 2010 and 31st December 2019 was included. Demographic details, complications including reason for return to theatre, length of stay, discharge destination, functional outcome and mortality were collected and reviewed.

RESULTS

4340 hip hemiarthroplasty procedures were performed, of which 64 patients (1.47%) required early RTT within 30 days of index procedure and 4276 patients did not require early-RTT. The most common reasons for RTT were infection (n = 47) and dislocation (n = 15). There were no cases of peri‑prosthetic fracture requiring RTT within 30 days. Patients requiring early RTT had a significantly increased rate of mortality within 120 days; 32.8% (21 of the 64 patients) versus 13.6% (580 out of the 4276) not requiring early RTT (p < 0.001). The median length of acute inpatient admission for patients who required early RTT was significantly longer at 31 days (range 6-185 days) compared to 10 days (range 3-171 days, p < 0.001) for those without early RTT. Early RTT was associated with a poorer functional mobility outcome at 120 days post-operatively, with a significantly greater reduction in Barthel score compared to the non-RTT cohort (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Patients requiring early RTT following hip hemiarthroplasty had a significantly increased length of stay, mortality and worse functional outcome compared to patients who did not require early RTT within 30 days.

Silver Trauma Review Clinic: a novel model of care to manage non-operative injuries in older patients

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of older patients are presenting to the ED following trauma. These patients require multidisciplinary care that the traditional trauma model fails to provide. A Silver Trauma Review Clinic (STRC) was developed in conjunction with the geriatric ED and multidisciplinary services to improve the post-discharge care of patients with non-operative traumatic injuries.We aimed to assess the STRC by reviewing the journey and outcomes of patients who attended the clinic.

METHODS

A retrospective review of electronic chart data was performed on all patients who attended the clinic over the initial 1-year period. Data were collected on patient demographics, medical history, medications, timelines, trauma assessments and further investigations, fracture types, occult injuries, geriatric assessments (Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, Clinical Frailty Scale, bone health, falls, Orthostatic Hypotension (OH), cognitive screening, mobility), number of reviews and discharge destination.

RESULTS

137 patients were reviewed with a median age of 80 years (IQR 74-86) and 69% were female. The median Clinical Frailty Scale was 3 with a median time from the patient's initial ED presentation to clinic of 15 days (IQR 9.75-21) and median time from initial review to discharge 20 days (IQR 1-35). 71% of presentations were as a result of falls under 2 m. Tertiary survey in the STRC identified previously unrecognised injuries in 24 patients (18%). In total, 56 patients were reviewed with vertebral fractures. 87% of these patients (n=49) were further investigated with a CT or MRI and 95% of patients (n=53) were referred for physiotherapy. Patients attending the STRC had a comprehensive geriatric assessment with abnormal Mini-Cog assessments found in 29%, a new diagnosis of osteoporosis in 43% and orthostatic hypotension diagnosed in 13% of patients. 61% were discharged to primary care and 19% linked into a specialist geriatric clinic.

CONCLUSION

The STRC is a novel approach allowing timely, patient-focused, comprehensive and collaborative trauma care of older patients following non-operative injuries.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in perioperative care: a systematic review of a complex intervention

OBJECTIVES

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a complex intervention applied to older people with evidence of benefit in medical populations. The aim of this systematic review was to describe how CGA is applied to surgical populations in randomised controlled trials. This will provide a basis for design of future studies focused on optimising CGA as a complex intervention.

SETTING

A systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

PARTICIPANTS

A systematic search was performed for studies of CGA in the perioperative period across Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane CENTRAL, from inception to March 2021.

INTERVENTIONS

Any randomised controlled trials of perioperative CGA versus 'standard care' were included.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Qualitative description of CGA.

RESULTS

12 121 titles and abstracts were screened, 68 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 22 articles included, reporting on 13 trials. 10 trials focused on inpatients with hip fracture, with 7 of these delivering CGA on a geriatric medicine ward, 3 on a surgical ward. The remaining three trials were in elective general surgery all delivering CGA on a surgical ward. CGA components, duration of intervention and personnel delivering the intervention were highly variable across the different studies. Trials favoured postoperative delivery of CGA (11/13). Only four trials reported data on adherence to the CGA intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

CGA as an intervention is variably described and delivered in randomised controlled trials in the perioperative setting. The reporting of both the intervention and standard care is often poor with little focus on adherence. Future research should focus on clearly defining and standardising the intervention as well as measuring adherence within trials.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42020221797.

The Prognostic and Discriminatory Utility of the Clinical Frailty Scale and Modified Frailty Index Compared to Age

Background: There is no consensus on the optimal method for the assessment of frailty. We compared the prognostic utility of two approaches (modified Frailty Index [mFI], Clinical Frailty Scale [CFS]) in older adults (≥65 years) hospitalised with COVID-19 versus age. Methods: We used a test and validation cohort that enrolled participants hospitalised with COVID-19 between 27 February and 30 June 2020. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic modelling was undertaken, with 28-day mortality as the primary outcome. Nested models were compared between a base model, age and frailty assessments using likelihood ratio testing (LRT) and an area under the receiver operating curves (AUROC). Results: The primary cohort enrolled 998 participants from 13 centres. The median age was 80 (range:65−101), 453 (45%) were female, and 377 (37.8%) died within 28 days. The sample was replicated in a validation cohort of two additional centres (n = 672) with similar characteristics. In the primary cohort, both mFI and CFS were associated with mortality in the base models. There was improved precision when fitting CFS to the base model +mFI (LRT = 25.87, p < 0.001); however, there was no improvement when fitting mFI to the base model +CFS (LRT = 1.99, p = 0.16). AUROC suggested increased discrimination when fitting CFS compared to age (p = 0.02) and age +mFI (p = 0.03). In contrast, the mFI offered no improved discrimination in any comparison (p > 0.05). Similar findings were seen in the validation cohort. Conclusions: These observations suggest the CFS has superior prognostic value to mFI in predicting mortality following COVID-19. Our data do not support the use of the mFI as a tool to aid clinical decision-making and prognosis.

A national study of 23 major trauma centres to investigate the effect of frailty on clinical outcomes in older people admitted with serious injury in England (FiTR 1): a multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND

Older people are the largest group admitted to hospital with serious injuries. Many older people are living with frailty, a risk factor for poor recovery. We aimed to examine the effect of preinjury frailty on outcomes.

METHODS

In this multicentre observational study (FiTR 1), we extracted prospectively collected data from all 23 adult major trauma centres in England on older people (aged ≥65 years) admitted with serious injuries over a 2·5 year period from the Trauma Audit and Research Network (TARN) database. Geriatricians assessed the preinjury Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), a 9-point scale of fitness and frailty, with a score of 1 indicating a patient is very fit and a score of 9 indicating they are terminally ill. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality, with patients censored at hospital discharge. We used a multi-level Cox regression model fitted with adjusted hazards ratios (aHRs) to assess the association between CFS and mortality, with CFS scores being grouped as follows: a score of 1-2 indicated patients were fit; a score of 3 indicated patients were managing well; and a score of 4-8 indicated patients were living with frailty (4 being very mild, 5 being mild, 6 being moderate, and 7-8 being severe).

FINDINGS

Between March 31, 2019, and Oct 31, 2021, 193 156 patients had records were held by TARN, of whom 16 504 had eligible records. Median age was 81·9 years (IQR 74·7-88·0), 9200 (55·7%) were women, and 7304 (44·3%) were men. Of 16 438 patients with a CFS score of 1-8, 11 114 (67·6%) were living with frailty (CFS of 4-8). 1660 (10·1%) patients died during their hospital stay, with a median time from admission to death of 9 days (IQR 4-18). Compared in patients with a CFS score of 1-2, risk of inpatient death was increased in those managing well (CFS score of 3; aHR 1·82 [95% CI 1·39-2·40]), living with very mild frailty (CFS score of 4: 1·99 [1·51-2·62]), living with mild frailty (CFS score of 5: 2·61 [1·99-3·43]), living with moderate frailty (CFS score of 6: 2·97 [2·26-3·90]), and living with severe frailty (CFS score of 7-8: 4·03 [3·04-5·34]).

INTERPRETATION

Our findings support inclusion of the CFS in trauma pathways to aid patient management. Additionally, people who exercise regularly (CFS of 1-2) have better outcomes than those with lower activity levels (CFS of ≥3), supporting exercise as an intervention to improve trauma outcomes.

FUNDING

None.