Effectiveness of Early Rehabilitation for Vertebral Compression Fractures: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Effects of weekend rehabilitation on vertebral compression fractures in the elderly

INTRODUCTION

This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the effect of rehabilitation and without weekend therapy on Activities of daily living (ADL) and readmission in vertebral fracture patients aged 60 years and older.

METHODS

The present study used a hospital-based database created by JMDC Inc. The JMDC hospital-based database is an epidemiological database that has been storing medical claims and Diagnosis Procedure Combination survey data. This study included 40,743 admitted patients aged 60 years or older who were admitted for rehabilitation purposes with a diagnosis of compression fracture of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine based on a previous diagnostic survey. We extracted the medical information from the database. Patients who received rehabilitation 7 days a week were classified into two groups: the "weekend rehabilitation group" and "nonweekend rehabilitation group." To reduce confounding effects related to differences in patient background, we used propensity score with multiple logistic regression models. Analysis of the JMDC database was conducted with the approval of the Institutional Review Board (approval number: 1228-1). Because all data were anonymized, informed consent was not required.

RESULTS

Propensity score matching resulted in 13,790 cases being included in the analysis. Barthel index (BI) at discharge, change in BI, and readmission were significantly different between the weekend rehabilitation and nonweekend rehabilitation groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis suggested a reduced odds of readmission with weekend rehabilitation (odds ratio = 0.907, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.843-0.975, p-value = 0.008). Furthermore, greater changes in BI and BI at discharge were associated with the effect of weekend rehabilitation (unstandardized [B] = 3.922, 95% CI = 2.925-4.919), (unstandardized [B] = 3.512, 9% CI = 2.424-4.6), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Weekend rehabilitation was considered as an important part of the treatment program to acquire ADL and to prevent readmission.

Impact of body mass index on outcomes of inpatients with vertebral compression fractures in Japan: A retrospective cohort study

AIM

The present study examined the relationship between body mass index and the ability to perform the activities of daily living in patients with vertebral compression fractures.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis of patients aged >65 years hospitalized with a vertebral compression fracture was carried out using a nationwide database in Japan. Body mass index was categorized as underweight (<18.5 kg/m2 ), normal weight (18.5-22.9 kg/m2 ), overweight (23.0-27.4 kg/m2 ) and obese (≥27.5 kg/m2 ) according to the World Health Organization criteria for the Asia-Pacific region. The primary outcome was Barthel Index gain, namely, the change in the Barthel Index score at discharge from that at admission. Secondary outcomes were the length of hospital stay and readmission within 30 days of discharge.

RESULTS

Among 41 423 participants, 24.5% were classified as underweight, excluding those with missing body mass index data. The underweight group had a significantly lower Barthel Index gain than the normal, overweight and obese groups (median 20 vs 25 vs 30 vs 30, respectively, P < 0.001). The underweight group also had longer hospital stays and higher 30-day readmission rates than the other groups. A multivariable analysis showed that being underweight was independently associated with a Barthel Index gain -3.63 points (95% confidence interval -4.58 to -2.68) lower than normal weight. Furthermore, being underweight was an independent variable affecting the length of hospital stay and readmission within 30 days (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with vertebral compression fractures, being underweight leads to lower Barthel Index scores, longer hospital stays and increased readmissions within 30 days of discharge. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 788-794.

Minimal important change in the Berg Balance Scale in older women with vertebral compression fractures: A retrospective multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Vertebral compression fractures, which are commonly associated with older age and osteoporotic fractures, have an increased risk of re-fracture. Therefore, improving balance is important to prevent falls. The minimal important change (MIC) has been recommended for interpreting clinically meaningful changes in rating scales. The MIC of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) for use in older women with vertebral compression fractures has not been established.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the MIC of the BBS that can be used in older women with vertebral compression fractures using predictive modeling methods and the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC)-based method.

DESIGN

A retrospective longitudinal multicenter study.

PATIENTS

Sixty older women (mean age ± standard deviation: 84.1 ± 7.0 years) with vertebral compression fractures who were unable to ambulate independently on a level surface.

METHODS

A change of one point in the Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) was used as an anchor to calculate the MIC of the BBS based on the change between admission and discharge. We calculated the MIC for the women whose FAC score improved by ≥1 point. We used three anchor-based methods to examine the MIC: the ROC-based method (MICROC ), the predictive modeling method (MICpred ), and the MICpred -based method adjusted by the rate of improvement and reliability of transition (MICadj ).

RESULTS

Thirty-nine women comprised the "important change" group based on their FAC score improvement. In this group, the MICROC (95% confidence interval [CI]) value of the BBS was 10.0 points (5.5-15.5), with an area under the curve of 0.71. The MICpred (95% CI) value was 9.7 (8.1-11.0), and the MICadj (95% CI) was 7.0 (5.5-8.5) points.

CONCLUSION

For women with vertebral compression fractures who are unable to ambulate independently, a 7.0-point improvement in the BBS score may be a useful indicator for reducing the amount of assistance required for walking.

Cumulated ambulation score in hospitalized patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures is an important predictor of returning home: a retrospective cohort study

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures are recognized as a serious problem in the aging society. In this study, we found that the cumulated ambulation score predicts returning home in patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures. The cumulated ambulation score is an important piece of information in determining the destination of patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

PURPOSE

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures are a serious problem affecting the health status of the elderly, and if they require inpatient treatment, they may have difficulty deciding where to discharge. The study's purpose is to investigate whether the cumulated ambulation scores predict returning home for hospitalized osteoporotic vertebral fractures patients.

METHODS

The subjects were 120 osteoporotic vertebral fractures patients aged 65 years or older who were admitted to our hospital between April 2015 and March 2022. The cumulated ambulation scores for all subjects were measured in the 3-days right after admission. A multivariable analysis was performed with the dependent variable as whether the patient returned home and the independent variable as the cumulated ambulation score. Three models were created from the measured cumulated ambulation score, and each model was analyzed as an independent variable (model 1; score on the 1st day, model 2; total score on the 2-days, model 3; total score on the 3-days).

RESULTS

The length of hospitalization for the osteoporotic vertebral fracture's patients were 11.8 ± 5.3 days, and 80 (66.7%) returned home. Multivariable analysis showed that cumulated ambulation score was a predictor of returning home (model 1, odds ratio: 3.151, 95% confidence interval: 2.074-5.203; model 2, odds ratio: 2.234, 95% confidence interval: 1.685-3.187; model 3, odds ratio: 1.929, 95% confidence interval: 1.535-2.599).

CONCLUSION

The cumulated ambulation score of patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures right after admission is a factor that affected returning home and is useful in determining where patients are discharged.

Effects of Different Doses of Clopidogrel plus Early Rehabilitation Therapy on Motor Function and Inflammatory Factors in Patients with Ischemic Stroke

This prospective randomized controlled study was intended to assess the effects of different doses of clopidogrel plus early rehabilitation therapy on motor function and inflammatory factors in patients with ischemic stroke. Between August 2018 and October 2020, 90 cases of ischemic stroke treated in the Second People's Hospital of Yibin were randomized at a ratio of 1 : 1 to receive either oral 50 mg/d clopidogrel plus early rehabilitation therapy (low-dose group) or oral 75 mg/d clopidogrel plus early rehabilitation therapy (high-dose group), with 45 cases in each group. The outcome measures including the Barthel Index (BI), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Fugl-Meyer simplified scale, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and occurrence of adverse events were collected. After treatment, the high-dose group had higher BI results than the low-dose group. All eligible patients showed significantly declined NIHSS scores, and the high-dose group had markedly lower results (P < 0.05). After treatment, the Fugl-Meyer scores of both upper and lower extremities of the high-dose group were significantly higher than those in the low-dose group. The high-dose group achieved a greater decrease in inflammatory factor levels after treatment versus the low-dose group. The two groups showed a similar incidence of adverse events. High-dose clopidogrel plus early rehabilitation outperforms the low-dose treatment for patients with ischemic stroke by effectively mitigating the inflammatory response in the body, promoting the restoration of neurological function, improving the level of motor function, and enhancing the patient's quality of life, with manageable safety.

Hospital Frailty Risk Score predicts adverse events in older patients with vertebral compression fractures: Analysis of data in a nationwide in-patient database in Japan

AIMS

This study investigated the usefulness of frailty for predicting adverse events in patients with vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) during hospitalization using data obtained from the Japanese health insurance system.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study of patients with VCFs aged ≥65 years was conducted using a nationwide database in Japan. We examined the relationships between frailty risk, classified using the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS), in-hospital mortality, and complications such as pressure ulcers and pneumonia. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between the HFRS and the outcomes of patients with VCFs.

RESULTS

In this study, the data of 30 980 in-patients with VCFs were analyzed. Of these patients, 76.8%, 21.3%, and 1.9% had low, intermediate, and high risks of frailty, respectively. The higher the risk of frailty, the higher the rate of in-hospital mortality and the occurrence of all complications (P < 0.001 for trend). An intermediate risk of frailty was independently associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.421; P < 0.001), whereas a high risk of frailty did not show statistical significance (OR, 1.385; P = 0.150). Each frailty risk was independently associated with the occurrence of all complications during hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS

The HFRS, which can assess the risk of frailty based on routinely collected medical records, was predictive of adverse events in older patients with VCFs based on a nationwide database in Japan. Future studies need to assess approaches to preventing adverse events in frail VCF patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; ••: ••-••.

Effect of Early Rehabilitation Treatment on Activities of Daily Living in Patients Receiving Conservative Treatment for Vertebral Compression Fracture

Objectives

: Vertebral compression fractures are common among older people. Currently, knowledge of the effects of early rehabilitation treatment on the recovery of activities of daily living (ADL) in older patients who receive conservative treatment for these fractures is limited. Using the instrumental variable (IV) method, we examined the effects on ADL at discharge of a delay in initiating rehabilitation treatment.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort study, data from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database were analyzed. The subjects were patients with vertebral compression fracture who had undergone rehabilitation treatment during their hospitalization between 2014 and 2019 in one of the 29 acute-care hospitals in Yamagata Prefecture. We analyzed data from 1706 patients (mean age, 82.1 years). The independent variable was the number of days between hospital admission and the start of rehabilitation treatment, and the outcome was the Barthel index (BI) score at discharge. An IV method was applied, with adjustments for covariates, including demographics and functional status at admission.

Results

Most patients started rehabilitation treatment within 3 days of hospital admission. Our IV method showed that the interval between hospital admission and the start of rehabilitation treatment was significantly associated with the BI score at discharge. The coefficient was -2.71 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -5.06 to -0.35).

Conclusions

A delay in initiating rehabilitation treatment had a negative effect on ADL at discharge. This result emphasizes the importance of including early rehabilitation treatment in acute care, as recommended by several existing guidelines for the treatment of orthopedic diseases.