Simple tool to assess frailty in older patients
Frailty is characterized by a state of vulnerability to medical stressors. Defining and measuring frailty has gained attention due to improved understanding that frailty is linked to poor patient outcomes. The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) was developed as a practical tool to be used by health care providers without specialized geriatrics training. The EFS assesses 9 domains: cognition, general health status, functional independence, social support, medication use, nutrition, mood, continence, and functional performance. In a community-based sample of 158 participants over 65 years old the EFS, when compared to the clinical impression of geriatric specialists after completing a comprehensive assessment, was found to be a valid measure of frailty (Rolfson et al., 2006). In 366 hospitalized patients over 65 years old the EFS demonstrated a significant association with other screening tools (MMSE, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Barthel Index and Activities Daily Living, Geriatric Depression Scale, Skeletal Muscle Index of sarcopenia, Handgrip strength) (Perna et al., 2017). The EFS is user friendly and requires <5 min to administer.
Dent E, Kowal P, Hoogendijk EO.
Perna S, Francis MD, Bologna C, et al.
Rolfson DB, Majumdar SR, Tsuyuki RT, Tahir A, Rockwood K.
Note to clinician: Draw a circle on a piece of paper and ask to individual being tested to add the hour and minute hands for "ten after eleven".
Frailty is characterized by a state of vulnerability to medical stressors. Defining and measuring frailty has gained attention due to improved understanding that frailty is linked to poor patient outcomes. The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) was developed as a practical tool to be used by health care providers without specialized geriatrics training. The EFS assesses 9 domains: cognition, general health status, functional independence, social support, medication use, nutrition, mood, continence, and functional performance. In a community-based sample of 158 participants over 65 years old the EFS, when compared to the clinical impression of geriatric specialists after completing a comprehensive assessment, was found to be a valid measure of frailty (Rolfson et al., 2006). In 366 hospitalized patients over 65 years old the EFS demonstrated a significant association with other screening tools (MMSE, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Barthel Index and Activities Daily Living, Geriatric Depression Scale, Skeletal Muscle Index of sarcopenia, Handgrip strength) (Perna et al., 2017). The EFS is user friendly and requires <5 min to administer.
Dent E, Kowal P, Hoogendijk EO.
Perna S, Francis MD, Bologna C, et al.
Rolfson DB, Majumdar SR, Tsuyuki RT, Tahir A, Rockwood K.
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