• Aladine A Elsamadicy, Sumaiya Sayeed, Sina Sadeghzadeh, Benjamin C Reeves, Josiah J Z Sherman, Samuel Craft, Paul Serrato, Larry LoSheng-FuSFDepartment of Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra, Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital, Northwell Health, Manhasset, New York, USA., and Daniel M Sciubba.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Electronic address: aladine.elsamadicy@yale.edu.
• World Neurosurg. 2024 Feb 1; 182: e16e28e16-e28.

ObjectiveThe rise of spinal surgery for ankylosing spondylitis (AS) necessitates balancing health care costs with quality patient care. Frailty has been independently associated with adverse outcomes and increased costs. This study investigates whether frailty is an independent predictor of poor outcomes after elective surgery for AS.MethodsUsing the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, a retrospective study was conducted on adult patients with AS who underwent posterior spinal fusion for fracture between 2016 and 2019. Each patient was assigned a modified frailty index (mFI) score and categorized as prefrail (mFI = 0 or 1), moderately frail (mFI = 2), and highly frail (mFI≥3). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors of extended length of stay, non-routine discharge (NRD), and exorbitant admission costs.ResultsOf the 1910 patients, 35.3% were prefrail, 31.2% moderately frail, and 33.5% highly frail. Age was significantly different across groups (P < 0.001), and frailty was associated with increased comorbidities (P < 0.001). Mean length of stay (P = 0.007), NRD rate (P < 0.001), and mean cost of admission (P = 0.002) all significantly increased with increasing frailty. However, frailty was not an independent predictor of extended hospital stay, NRD, or higher costs on multivariate analysis. Instead, predictors included multiple adverse events, number of comorbidities, and race.ConclusionsWhile frailty in patients with AS is associated with older age, greater comorbidities, and increased adverse events, it was not an independent predictor of extended hospital stay, NRD, or higher hospital costs. Further research is required to understand the full impact of frailty on surgical outcomes and develop effective interventions.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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