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Review
. 2022 Mar 4:8:23337214221079956.
doi: 10.1177/23337214221079956. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

Frailty in Elderly Patients with Covid-19: A Narrative Review

Sara Salini  1 , Andrea Russo  1 , Giuseppe De Matteis  2 , Andrea Piccioni  3 , Davide Della Polla  3 , Luigi Carbone  3 , Christian Barillaro  1   4 , Francesco Landi  1   4 , Francesco Franceschi  3   4 , Marcello Covino  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Frailty in Elderly Patients with Covid-19: A Narrative Review

Sara Salini et al. Gerontol Geriatr Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: The SARS CoV-2 pandemic still generates a very high number of affected patients and a significant mortality rate. It is essential to establish objective criteria to stratify COVID-19 death risk. Frailty has been identified as a potential determinant of increased vulnerability in older adults affected by COVID-19, because it may suggest alterations of physical performance and functional autonomy.

Methods: We have conducted a narrative review of the literature on the evidences regarding COVID-19 and the frailty condition. Thirteen observational studies were included.

Conclusion: Data emerging from the studies indicate that older COVID-19 patients with a frailty condition have an increased risk of mortality compared with non-frail patients, and this association is independent of other clinical and demographic factors. A frailty evaluation is required to help clinicians to better stratify the overall risk of death for older patients with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; frailty; multi-morbidity; older adults.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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