Sarcopenia and Frailty in Elderly Trauma Patients

Background Sarcopenia describes a loss of muscle mass and resultant decrease in strength, mobility, and function that can be quantified by CT. We hypothesized that sarcopenia and related frailty characteristics are related to discharge disposition after blunt traumatic injury in the elderly. Methods We reviewed charts of 252 elderly blunt trauma patients who underwent abdominal CT prior to hospital admission. Data for thirteen frailty characteristics were abstracted. Sarcopenia was measured by obtaining skeletal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) from each patient’s psoas major muscle using Slice-O-Matic ® software. Dispositions were grouped as dependent and independent based on discharge location. χ 2 , Fisher’s exact, and logistic regression were used to determine factors associated with discharge dependence. Results Mean age 76 years, 49 % male, median ISS 9.0 (IQR = 8.0–17.0). Discharge destination was independent in 61.5 %, dependent in 29 %, and 9.5 % of patients died. Each 1 cm 2 increase in psoas muscle CSA was associated with a 20 % decrease in dependent living ( p