Edmonton Frail Scale

Simple tool to assess frailty in older patients

About

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.

References

Dent E, Kowal P, Hoogendijk EO.

European Journal of Internal Medicine 2016, 31: 3-10

Rolfson DB, Majumdar SR, Tsuyuki RT, Tahir A, Rockwood K.

Age and Ageing 2006, 35 (5): 526-9

The Edmonton Frail Scale calculator is created by QxMD.
Default Units

1. Clock test: Please imagine that this pre-drawn circle is a clock. I would like you to place the numbers in the correct positions then place the hands to indicate a time of ‘ten after eleven’.

More Information

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".

0/11 completed

About

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.

References

Dent E, Kowal P, Hoogendijk EO.

European Journal of Internal Medicine 2016, 31: 3-10

Rolfson DB, Majumdar SR, Tsuyuki RT, Tahir A, Rockwood K.

Age and Ageing 2006, 35 (5): 526-9

The Edmonton Frail Scale calculator is created by QxMD.
Contributed By:
  • Lauren Cuthbertson, MD
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