The impact of frailty and sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes in adult spine surgery. A systematic review of the literature.
STUDY DESIGN
Systematic review.


OBJECTIVES
To identify currently used measures of frailty and sarcopenia in the adult spine surgery literature. To assess their ability to predict postoperative outcomes including mortality, morbidity, in-hospital length of stay (LOS), and discharge disposition. To determine which is the best clinical measure of frailty and sarcopenia in predicting outcome after spine surgery.


SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA
Frailty and sarcopenia have been identified as predictors of mortality and adverse-events (AEs) in numerous nonsurgical and nonspine populations. This topic is an emerging area of interest and study in patients undergoing spinal surgery.


METHODS
A systematic literature review using the PRISMA methodology of MEDLINE, PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases was performed from January 1950 to August 2017. Included studies consisted of those that examined measures of frailty or sarcopenia in adult patients undergoing any spinal surgery. The literature was synthesized and recommendations are proposed based on the GRADE system.


RESULTS
The initial search yielded 210 results, 11 of which met our complete inclusion criteria. Seven reported on measures of frailty and four reported on measures of sarcopenia. Frailty, assessed using a variety of measurement tools, was a consistent predictor of mortality, major and minor morbidity, prolonged in-hospital LOS, and discharge to a center of higher care for adult patients undergoing spinal surgery. The relationship between sarcopenia and postoperative outcomes was inconsistent due to the lack of consensus regarding the definition, measurement tools, and wide variability in sarcopenia measured in the spinal population.


CONCLUSIONS
Frailty is predictive of AEs, mortality, in-hospital LOS, and discharge disposition in a number of distinct spinal surgery populations. The impact of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes is equivocal given the current state of the literature. The relationship between spinal pathology, frailty, sarcopenia, and how they interact to yield outcome remains to be clarified. Frailty and sarcopenia are potentially useful tools for risk stratification of patients undergoing spinal surgery. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, registration number 85096.
['Moskven|Eryck|E|', 'Bourassa-Moreau|Étienne|É|', 'Charest-Morin|Raphaele|R|', 'Flexman|Alana|A|', 'Street|John|J|']
D000073496:Frailty D006801:Humans D007902:Length of Stay D011183:Postoperative Complications D011184:Postoperative Period D011237:Predictive Value of Tests D011379:Prognosis D055948:Sarcopenia D013122:Spinal Diseases
Frailty Sarcopenia Mortality Morbidity Length of Stay Discharge Disposition Adverse Events Complication Total Psoas Area