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. 2023 Dec 23;13(1):86.
doi: 10.3390/jcm13010086.

The Prevalence of the Frailty Syndrome in a Hospital Setting-Is Its Diagnosis a Challenge? A Comparison of Four Frailty Scales in a Cross-Sectional Study

Agnieszka Kasiukiewicz  1   2 , Zyta Beata Wojszel  1   2
Affiliations

The Prevalence of the Frailty Syndrome in a Hospital Setting-Is Its Diagnosis a Challenge? A Comparison of Four Frailty Scales in a Cross-Sectional Study

Agnieszka Kasiukiewicz et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the prevalence of the frailty syndrome in older patients hospitalized in the geriatric ward depending on the diagnostic criteria used, the feasibility of particular diagnostic scales in hospitalized patients, and their compatibility; 416 patients (81.2 ± 6.91 years) admitted to the Department of Geriatrics of Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Bialystok within eight months were included in the study. Four diagnostic scales were used to identify the frailty syndrome: Fried criteria, 7-point Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), 40-item Frailty Index (FI), and FRAIL Scale. Depending on the scale, the prevalence of frailty syndrome varied from 26.8% (FRAIL Scale), 52.3% (Clinical Frailty Scale), and 58.1% (Fried criteria) up to 62.9% (Frailty Index). We observed the highest feasibility for CFS (100%) and the lowest for the Fried scale (79.8%). The highest level of agreement was found between the CFS and Frailty Index, with 80.3% consistent ratings (Cohen Kappa 0.6). Patients in the geriatric ward are characterized by a high prevalence of frailty, although it differs depending on the criteria. The most difficult to use in daily practice was the Fried scale, while the Clinical Frailty Scale was determined feasible in all patients.

Keywords: clinical challenges; frailty diagnosis; frailty syndrome; hospital acute care units; medical complexity; older patients; sub-intensive care units.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of frailty categories depending on the diagnostic scale used. Numbers are given in percentages.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overlapping of frailty, disability, and multimorbidity depending on the frailty diagnostic scale used.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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