Objective To explore the correlations of van der Linden score and nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) score with the prognosis of patients with spinal metastases.

Methods From January 2010 to December 2020, the clinical data of 127 hospitalized patients with spinal metastases admitted to the First Peoples′ Hospital of Yibin were retrospectively analyzed, the follow-up was up to June 30, 2022. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the survival curve, and Log-rank χ² test and Cox regression were used to analyze the correlations of van der Linden score and NRS 2002 score with the prognosis of patients with spinal metastases.

Results The average follow-up time was 11.7 months, and the median survival time was 10 months. The mortality rate during the follow-up period was 76.38%, and the 6-month and 12-month survival rates were 69.29% and 27.56%, respectively. The survival time of patients with van der Linden scores of 0 to 3 points, 4 to 5 points, and 6 points was (7.50±2.86) months, (15.45±4.49) months, and (19.00±6.40) months, with the 12-month survival rates of 3.75%, 65.00%, and 85.71%, respectively. The 12-month survival rates of patients with NRS 2002 scores < 3 points and ≥3 points were 34.21% and 17.65%, respectively. Cox regression analysis showed that van der Linden score and NRS 2002 score were influencing factors for the prognosis of spinal metastases. Taking HR(95%CI) of van der Linden score at 6 points as the reference, the HR (95%CI) of van der Linden scores at 0 to 3 points and 4 to 5 points were 6.915 (2.048 to 23.363) and 1.715 (1.068 to 2.757), respectively. The HR(95%CI) of NRS 2002 scores ≥3 was 1.838 (1.186 to 2.850) taking NRS 2002 < 3 score as the reference.

Conclusion The overall prognosis of patients with spinal metastases is poor. The van der Linden score and NRS 2002 score are related with the prognosis of patients.