Comparison of frailty screening instruments in the emergency department

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Date
2019-09-27
Authors
O'Caoimh, Rónán
Costello, Maria
Small, Cliona
Spooner, Lynn
Flannery, Antoinette
O'Reilly, Liam
Heffernan, Laura
Mannion, Edel
Maughan, Anna
Joyce, Alma
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MDPI AG
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Abstract
Early identification of frailty through targeted screening can facilitate the delivery of comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and may improve outcomes for older inpatients. As several instruments are available, we aimed to investigate which is the most accurate and reliable in the Emergency Department (ED). We compared the ability of three validated, short, frailty screening instruments to identify frailty in a large University Hospital ED. Consecutive patients aged ≥70 attending ED were screened using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), Identification of Seniors at Risk Tool (ISAR), and the Programme on Research for Integrating Services for the Maintenance of Autonomy 7 item questionnaire (PRISMA-7). An independent CGA using a battery of assessments determined each patient’s frailty status. Of the 280 patients screened, complete data were available for 265, with a median age of 79 (interquartile ±9); 54% were female. The median CFS score was 4/9 (±2), ISAR 3/6 (±2), and PRISMA-7 was 3/7 (±3). Based upon the CGA, 58% were frail and the most accurate instrument for separating frail from non-frail was the PRISMA-7 (AUC 0.88; 95% CI:0.83–0.93) followed by the CFS (AUC 0.83; 95% CI:0.77–0.88), and the ISAR (AUC 0.78; 95% CI:0.71–0.84). The PRISMA-7 was statistically significantly more accurate than the ISAR (p = 0.008) but not the CFS (p = 0.15). Screening for frailty in the ED with a selection of short screening instruments, but particularly the PRISMA-7, is reliable and accurate.
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Older people , Frailty , Emergency department , Screening , Sensitivity , Specificity
Citation
O’Caoimh, R., Costello, M., Small, C., Spooner, L., Flannery, A., O’Reilly, L., Heffernan, L., Mannion, E., Maughan, A., Joyce, A., Molloy, D. W. and O’Donnell, J. (2019) 'Comparison of Frailty Screening Instruments in the Emergency Department', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(19), 3626. (13pp.) DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16193626