The clinical frailty scale is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications and the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis in elderly patients with trimalleolar ankle fractures - a retrospective study

Abstract Background The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a tool to assess the overall health of older adults. There are few reports of CFS and prognosis of ankle fracture. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive power of the CFS for adverse clinical and radiographic outcomes after...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qingsong Zhou, Wei Deng, Ming Zhao, Wei Zhou, Duo Chen, Heng Wang, Shengtao Wang, Hongsheng Yang, Yong Yin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-025-05499-4
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Background The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a tool to assess the overall health of older adults. There are few reports of CFS and prognosis of ankle fracture. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive power of the CFS for adverse clinical and radiographic outcomes after surgery in elderly patients with trimalleolar fractures. Method All patients aged 65 and older underwent open reduction and internal fixation for trimalleolar fractures between January 2015 to January 2023 were selected. Follow-up time was at least 1 year. Patients with post-traumatic osteoarthritis, bone tumors, bone infection, and other diseases before surgery were excluded. According to the CFS score, the patients were divided into three groups: not frail, vulnerable, and frail. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of the clinical frailty scale on postoperative complications. Result Excluding 3 cases of death during the follow-up process, and 4 cases lost to follow-up, the study included a total of 146 patients, who were grouped based on their degree of frailty: the Healthy Group (CFS = 1–3, n = 69), the Vulnerable Group (CFS = 4, n = 50), and the Frail Group (CFS = 5–9, n = 47). In comparison with the not frail group, frail (CFS 5–9) emerged as an independent predictor of any complications (OR = 6.90, CI: 1.43–11.56, P = 0.009), adverse discharge destination (OR = 7.53, CI: 2.06–77.50, P = 0.006), and post-traumatic osteoarthritis (OR = 8.90, CI: 1.94–24.66, P = 0.003). Conclusions The frailty assessed by the CFS is associated with adverse discharge destination, any complications, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis in elderly patients undergoing open reduction and internal fixation for trimalleolar fractures.
ISSN:1749-799X