Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40082341›Full record

ArticleNeurosurgical review2025

Impact of frailty in elderly patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy after traumatic brain injury.

Sebastian Niedermeyer, Mathias Leiber, Sophia Stöcklein, Thomas Weig, Nicole A Terpolilli

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Article in Neurosurgical review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sebastian NiedermeyerDepartment of Neurosurgery, LMU Hospital, Munich University, Munich, Germany. sebastian.niedermeyer@knappschaft-kliniken.de.
Mathias LeiberDepartment of Neurosurgery, LMU Hospital, Munich University, Munich, Germany.
Sophia StöckleinDepartment of Clinical Radiology, LMU Hospital, Munich University, Munich, Germany.
Thomas WeigDepartment of Anesthesiology, LMU Hospital, Munich University, Munich, Germany.
Nicole A TerpolilliDepartment of Neurosurgery, LMU Hospital, Munich University, Munich, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a surgical procedure in which a large portion of the skull is removed and the dura mater is opened to relieve intracranial pressure. The indication in elderly patients is controversial, with prevailing studies indicating an overall poor prognosis. However, some patients recover well despite their advanced age. In this study we aimed to investigate the impact of frailty and muscularity on outcome after DC for TBI. We conducted a retrospective review of clinical notes of patients aged > 60 years, who underwent DC following TBI between January 2010 and December 2021. Temporalis muscle area (TMA) was quantified from head CT-scans upon admission. Frailty was assessed retrospectively from clinical charts using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Regression analysis were employed to determine their association with postsurgical Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). We identified 55 patients with a median age of 72 years (IQR 67-77; range 60-93 years). The 30-day mortality rate was 14.6%. At discharge, 32.7% of patients achieved good recovery or moderate disability (GOS 4-5), while 67.3% experienced severe disability, vegetative state, or death (GOS1-3). Initial GCS and CFS were associated to GOS at discharge in univariate (p = 0.042 and p = 0.009 respectively) and multivariate regression analysis (p = 0.049 and p = 0.013 respectively). TMA showed no association with GOS at discharge (p = 0.773). Age was associated with GOS at discharge in univariate (p = 0.042), but not multivariate linear regression (p = 0.421) when adjusted for GCS and CFS as covariables. Thirty patients (54.6%) were readmitted for cranioplasty, with 17 patients (30.9% of the entire cohort) displaying a GOS of 4-5. Frailty, rather than chronological age, emerges to be a crucial predictor of GOS following decompressive craniectomy for TBI in elderly patients. Incorporation of frailty assessment by CFS into decision-making processes could help to identify elderly patients with a more favorable post-surgical outcome, thereby facilitating treatment decisions.

Indexed as

Brain Injuries, TraumaticDecompressive CraniectomyFrailtyAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleGlasgow Outcome ScaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeAcute subdural hematomaCraniectomyElderlyFrailtyOutcomePrognosticationTraumatic brain injury

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.