Frailty might be a better predictor than age in determining how older adults living at home will fare after receiving critical care.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo analyzed data from more than 24,000 community adults receiving home care in Ontario, Canada, who were subsequently admitted to an intensive-care unit. The researchers applied three different measures for baseline frailty and found that a person’s level of frailty was linked to survival one year later. The frailest survivors had only a 1 in 5 chance of living to one year following discharge.
“Our results tell us that baseline frailty can help inform treatment plans and goals of care for older persons with critical illness,” lead research author Luke Turcotte said.
Clinical frailty is age-related and characterized by a reduced ability to maintain or restore physical, physiological or cognitive functions when subject to health stressors.
Earlier research analyzing smaller data sets reached similar conclusions. For this study, researchers used data from standardized health assessments used in home care throughout Canada and internationally.
Researchers said the concept of frailty can be best used to guide conversations about advance care planning with home care clients and their families.
