Loss of Independence - a Rapid Alternative to Frailty Screening in a Swedish ED Setting

Frailty is a common clinical syndrome in older adults that carries an increased risk for poor health outcomes including falls, incident disability, hospitalization and mortality.

The Loss of Independence (LOI) defined as inability to rise from a chair with or without existing aids, is a possible low cost surrogate marker to measure frailty. Several studies on triage scores for predicting mortality and need of hospital admission have identified LOI as one of the most important variables. LOI was prognostic in ED populations regarding mortality within 1-30 days in Denmark, Ireland and Tanzania. Data from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Geriatric Surgery Pilot Project showed that LOI was associated with higher rates of readmission and death after discharge in geriatric patients undergoing surgical procedures6.

The aim of this study will be to investigate if the frailty, as assessed with LOI, is associated with increased 30-day mortality in a Swedish ED context. Secondary outcomes include 7- and 90-day mortality, ED-length of stay, hospital admission, in-hospital length of stay, subsequent falls and medication changes. Additionally, we collect data on morbidity and comorbidities to assess the association with the level of frailty. Since this is a multicentre study, possible geographic differences will be studied as well. Based on the results of this study, possible interventions could be identified to improve the care of the frail geriatric patients presenting at the ED.