Impact of sarcopenia on gait independence in older orthopaedic patients: a comparison of 2 diagnostic algorithms.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare the impact of sarcopenia on gait recovery using the Sarcopenia Special Interest Group of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISarcoPRM) and the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 (AWGS2019) algorithms in older orthopaedic patients.

DESIGN

A prospective observational study.

PATIENTS: A total of 153 orthopaedic patients (78.4% women; average age 79.3 ± 6.7 years) were included during hospitalization.

METHODS

Sarcopenia was defined using the ISarcoPRM and AWGS2019 algorithms on admission. Functional ambulation categories assessed gait independence before admission and on discharge. The impact of sarcopenia on worsened gait independence on discharge was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Sarcopenia based on the ISarcoPRM algorithm (prevalence=56.2%) was significantly associated with worsened gait independence (odds ratio: 3.94, 95% confidence interval: 1.51-10.25, p = 0.005), unlike sarcopenia based on AWGS2019 (prevalence=36.6%).

CONCLUSION

Sarcopenia assessed using the ISarcoPRM algorithm was associated with worsened gait independence on discharge in older orthopaedic patients.