Low handgrip strength is associated with a higher incidence of pressure ulcers in hip fractured patients.

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are highly frequent in hip fractured elderly patients. This issue has a direct impact in quality of life, mortality as well as healthcare costs. Handgrip strength (HGS) is an efficient, low-cost and straightfoward method to measure functional capacity, as well as the global muscle strength of elderly patients. In this research we are aiming to analyze if low HGS is associated with higher incidence of pressure ulcers within a population of elderly patients with hip fracture from a tertiary hospital from Monterrey, Mexico. This research, designed as an observational-longi- tudinal cohort, included 462 patients admitted at the Hip and Pelvic Surgery Department of the Hospital of Traumatology and Orthopedics No. 21, of the Mexican Institute of the Social Security (IMSS), in Monterrey, Mexico. HGS measurement was performed by a trained physician, using a Jamar® Hydraulic Hand DynamometerPatients were grouped into tertiles according to their grip strength measurement and sex. Every patient was evaluated for presence or absence of PUs during hospital admission and followed until discharge. The general incidence of PUs was 25.7%. The incidence was higher in the weaker subjects (Tertile one 33%, Tertile two 30%, and Tertile three 15%, P=0.001). Pre-fracture Barthel's index, and Mini Nutritional Assessment Scores were lower among participants with PUs. After multivariate analysis, only HGS remained associated with PUs incidence. Low handgrip strength is associated with a higher incidence of pressure ulcers.

Validation of the FRAIL scale in Mexican elderly: results from the Mexican Health and Aging Study.

BACKGROUND: The aging population in Latin America is characterized by not optimal conditions for good health, experiencing high burden of comorbidity, which contribute to increase the frequency of frailty; thus, identification should be a priority, to classify patients at high risk to develop its negative consequences. AIM: The objective of this analysis was to validate the FRAIL instrument to measure frailty in Mexican elderly population, from the database of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective, population study in Mexico, that included subjects of 60 years and older who were evaluated for the variables of frailty during the year 2001 (first wave of the study). Frailty was measured with the five-item FRAIL scale (fatigue, resistance, ambulation, illnesses, and weight loss). The robust, pre-frail or intermediate, and the frail group were considered when they had zero, one, and at least two components, respectively. Mortality, hospitalizations, falls, and functional dependency were evaluated during 2003 (second wave of the study). Relative risk was calculated for each complications, as well as hazard ratio (for mortality) through Cox regression model and odds ratio with logistic regression (for the rest of the outcomes), adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: The state of frailty was independently associated with mortality, hospitalizations, functional dependency, and falls. The pre-frailty state was only independently associated with hospitalizations, functional dependency, and falls. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty measured through the FRAIL scale, is associated with an increase in the rate of mortality, hospitalizations, dependency in activities of daily life, and falls.