Frailty assessment, hip fracture and long‐term clinical outcomes in older adults. (23rd December 2020) - Pizzonia, Monica
Abstract: Background: The primary aim of the study was determining the validation of the modified 19‐item Frailty Index (mFI‐19), based on the standard procedure for creating a frailty index scoring in the accumulation deficit theory of Rockwood and comparing it with the gold standard comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) in old age patients with hip fracture. As a secondary aim, we compared prognostic accuracies of mFI‐19 and CGA in predicting long‐term mortality after surgery. Materials and Methods: A total of 364 older patients with hip fractures, each a candidate for surgery, were consecutively enrolled. All were subjected to CGA and mFI‐19 at baseline and time to death (years from hip surgery) were collected prospectively. Results: Mean patient age was 86.5 (SD: 5.65) years. The most common clinical phenotype (77%) was frail. Both CGA and mFI‐19 performed similarly in predicting long‐term mortality (Harrell's C‐index: 0.66 and 0.68, respectively). Conclusions: The mFI‐19 was validated, compared to the gold standard CGA, based on a systematic process for creating a frailty index in relation to the accumulation deficit. This is one of few prospective studies addressing long‐term mortality in older adults with hip fractures, invoking a methodologically robust frailty screening assessment.