Short Communication
J Frailty Sarcopenia Falls 2022 Jun; 7(2):95-100 Copied!
10.22540/JFSF-07-095 Copied!
Scoring the Clinical Frailty Scale in the Emergency Department: The Home FIRsT Experience
- School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- MedEL Directorate, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Physiotherapy, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Social Work, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Occupational Therapy, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- Discipline of Medical Gerontology, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Emergency Department, St James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
- School of Physiotherapy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
- Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Keywords:
Abstract We evaluated predictors of the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) scored by an interdisciplinary team (Home FIRsT) performing comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in our Emergency Department (ED). This was a retrospective observational study (service evaluation) utilising ED-based CGA data routinely collected by Home FIRsT between January and October 2020. A linear regression model was computed to establish independent predictors of CFS. This was complemented by a classification and regression tree (CRT) to evaluate the main predictors. There were 799 Home FIRsT episodes, of which 740 were unique patients. The CFS was scored on 658 (89%) (median 4, range 1-8; mean age 81 years, 61% women). Independent predictors of higher CFS were older age (p<0.001), history of dementia (p<0.001), mobility (p≤0.007), disability (p<0.001), and higher acuity of illness (p=0.009). Disability and mobility were the main classifiers in the CRT. Results suggest appropriate CFS scoring informed by functional baseline.