Clinical Frailty Scale scores of older patients admitted to an emergency department.

Abstract

Introduction: Frailty is prevalent in older adults attending emergency departments and is associated with adverse health outcomes. Early identification of frailty is important to develop appropriate care plans and targeted interventions that address specific healthcare needs. The Clinical Frailty Scale is a validated tool used to assess an individual's baseline health status and predict the risk of adverse outcomes in adults aged 65 years or older. This study aimed to delineate the demographic characteristics and baseline Clinical Frailty Scale scores of patients aged 65 years and older in three Danish emergency department populations.

Methods: A flash mob study was conducted over two days to collect observational data from 6 AM to midnight at three emergency departments in Southern Denmark. Collected variables included demographics, the reasons for the emergency department presentation and Clinical Frailty Scale scores. The prevalence of frailty was determined using frequency and proportion analyses.

Results: A total of 225 patients aged 65 years and older were recruited across three emergency departments. More than 58% exhibited mild or more severe frailty, defined by a Clinical Frailty Score of 4 or higher. Findings show that frailty was more common among the oldest patients. Participants had a median age of 78 years (IQR: 72-83 years), and 46.2% were female.

Conclusions: This study shows that frailty was prevalent among people aged 65 years and older attending the emergency departments. Terminally ill patients were underrepresented in this study, probably because patients who could not give informed consent due to cognitive impairments were excluded.

Funding: None.

Trial registration: Not relevant.