A new study published in Spine examines the frailty index as a predictor for cervical spinal fusion patients' outcomes.
The study authors examined data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program about adults who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion or posterior cervical fusion from 2005 to 2012. The study authors found:
1. The Clavien-Dindo grade IV complications for the ACDF patients were up 0.8 percent to 9 percent when the modified frailty index increased from 0 to 0.27 or more.
2. The modified frailty index at 0.27 was a predictor of the Clavien-Dindo grade IV complications for ACDF patients, according to the study abstract.
3. The Clavien-Dindo grade IV complication rate in the posterior cervical fusion group was up 0.7 percent to 20 percent when the modified frailty index increased to 0.36 or greater.
4. The modified frailty index of 0.36 or greater was an independent predictor of the Clavien-Dindo grade IV complications, according to the study abstract.
5. The researchers concluded, "The mFI itself may be used to stratify risks in patients undergoing cervical fusion, or, the mFI scheme could be used as a platform upon which more efficient risk stratification could be done with the addition of other variables."