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. 2025 Mar;15(2):526-533.
doi: 10.1177/21925682231196828. Epub 2023 Aug 19.

The 5-Factor Modified Frailty Index is Associated With Increased Risk of Reoperations and Adjacent Level Disease Following Single-Level Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Neil Patel  1 , Daniel Coban  1 , Stuart Changoor  1 , Kumar Sinha  1 , Ki Soo Hwang  1 , Arash Emami  1
Affiliations

The 5-Factor Modified Frailty Index is Associated With Increased Risk of Reoperations and Adjacent Level Disease Following Single-Level Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Neil Patel et al. Global Spine J. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Study design: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objectives: To determine the predictive capability between the 5-factor modified frailty index (mFI-5) scores and adverse clinical and radiographic outcomes following single-level transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF).

Methods: All patients over the age of 50 undergoing single-level open or minimally invasive TLIF from 2012 to 2021 with a minimum follow-up of 1 year were identified. Deformity, trauma, emergency, and tumor cases were excluded as were patients undergoing revision surgeries. An mFI-5 score was computed for each patient using a set of five factors which included hypertension requiring medication, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, and partially or fully dependent functional status. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the impact of mFI-5 scores on readmissions, reoperations, and postoperative complications.

Results: 156 patients were included and grouped according to their level of frailty: no-frailty (mFI = 0, n = 67), mild frailty (mFI = 1, n = 59), and severe frailty (mFI = 2+, n = 30). Multivariate analysis found high levels of frailty (mFI = 2+) to be independent predictors of reoperation (OR: 16.9, CI: 2.7 - 106.9, P = .003) and related readmissions (OR = 16.5, CI: 2.6 - 102.7, P = .003) as compared to the no-frailty group. An mFI-5 score of 2+ was also predictive of any complication (OR = 4.5, CI: 1.4 - 14.3, P = .01) and adjacent segment disease (ASD) (OR = 12.5, CI: 1.2 - 134.0, P = .037).

Conclusion: High levels of frailty were predictive of related readmissions, reoperations, any complications, and ASD in older adult patients undergoing single-level TLIF.

Keywords: 5-factor modified frailty index; frailty; modified frailty index; outcomes; transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Dr. Emami receives grants/research support from NuVasive. Dr. Hwang is a consultant for Stryker Spine. None of these are applicable to the current study. For the remaining authors, none were declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart for patient selection criteria.
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