Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

Excerpt

Frailty is a condition of increased vulnerability to endogenous and exogenous stressors, resulting from the interaction of progressive age-related decline in physiologic systems with chronic diseases, leading to decreased functional reserve capacities [1]. The effect of frailty on patient’s clinical outcomes has been examined in several settings of care, including intensive care units (ICU) and acute hospital wards [1, 2], showing to be a reliable predictor of clinical and health care related outcomes. Based on these and other evidences, some scientific societies (https://​www.​nice.​org.​uk/​guidance/​ng159/​resources/​critical-care-admission-algorithm-pdf-8708948893; https://​www.​brc-rea.​be/​wp-content/​uploads/​2020/​03/​Ethical-decision-making-in-emergencies_​COVID19_​22032020_​final.​pdf) are recommending to assess frailty in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection to guide their triage. However, not all international scientific associations have similar positions (https://​smw.​ch/​article/​doi/​smw.​2020.​20229; http://​www.​siaarti.​it/​SiteAssets/​News/​COVID19%20​-%20​documenti%20​SIAARTI/​SIAARTI%20​-%20​Covid19%20​-%20​Raccomandazioni%20​di%20​etica%20​clinica.​pdf). …