National Survey of Geriatricians to Define Functional Decline in Elderly People with Minor Trauma

Background: This study was designed to determine a clinically significant point drop in function to define functional decline and the required sensitivity for a clinical decision tool to identify elderly patients at high risk of functional decline following a minor injury.

Methods: After a rigorous development process, a survey questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 178 geriatricians selected from those registered in a national medical directory. The surveys were distributed using a modified Dillman technique.

Results: We obtained a satisfactory response rate of 70.5%. Ninety percent of the geriatricians required a sensitivity of 90% or less for a clinical decision tool to identify injured seniors at high risk of functional decline 6 months post injury. Our results indicate that 90% of the respondents considered a drop in function of at least 2 points in activities of daily living (ADL) as clinically significant when considering all 14 ADL items. Considering only the 7 basic ADL items, 90% of physicians considered a 1 point drop as clinically significant.

Conclusions: A tool with a sensitivity of 90% to detect patients at risk of functional decline at 6 months post minor injury would meet or exceed the sensitivity required by 90% of geriatric specialists. These findings clearly define what is a clinically significant decline following a "minor injury."