The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

99. Use of recommended assessments of physical frailty and sarcopenia in hospitalised older people: is it feasible?

99. Use of recommended assessments of physical frailty and sarcopenia in hospitalised older people: is it feasible?
99. Use of recommended assessments of physical frailty and sarcopenia in hospitalised older people: is it feasible?
Background: frailty and sarcopenia are common among hospitalised older people and associated with poor healthcare outcomes. Recommended gold standard tools for their identification are the Fried Frailty Phenotype and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria. We studied the feasibility of using these tools on acute wards for older people.

Methods: patients aged 70+ years admitted to acute wards at one UK hospital were prospectively recruited. The Fried Frailty Phenotype (unintentional weight loss; exhaustion; physical activity, gait speed and grip strength) and the 5-item self-reported FRAIL scale questionnaire covering the same domains were measured. Agreement between the two tools was reported using the Cohen kappa statistic. The EWGSOP criteria (gait speed, grip strength and muscle mass) were measured: grip strength using a dynamometer, gait speed timed over 4 metres, and muscle mass with a bedside bioelectrical-impedance machine.

Results: 233 participants (median age 80 years, 60% men) were recruited. Most (221, 95%) had their grip strength measured: 4 (2%) were unable and 8 (3%) had missing data. Only 70 (30%) completed the gait speed assessment: 153 (66%) were unable to walk with missing data on 10 (4%). Only 113 (50%) participants had the bioelectrical impedance assessment. The test was not feasible among 84 (38%): 25 patients declined, 21 were unavailable, 16 had clinical contra-indications, 22 results were technically invalid. Data on 26 (12%) were missing.

230 (99%) patients completed the FRAIL scale and frailty was identified among 77 (34%). Considering inability to complete grip strength or gait speed assessments as low values, data for the Fried Frailty Phenotype was available for 218 (89%) of participants and frailty was identified in 105 (48%). There was a moderate agreement between the two frailty tools (Kappa value of 0.46, 95%CI: 0.34 to 0.58). Complete data for the EWGOSP criteria were only available for 123 (53%) patients among whom 40 (33%) had sarcopenia.

Conclusion: it was feasible to measure grip strength and the FRAIL scale among older inpatients in hospital. Measuring gait speed and muscle mass using bio-impedance to identify sarcopenia was challenging in the acute setting.
i27-i30
Ibrahim, Kinda
54f027ad-0599-4dd4-bdbf-b9307841a294
Howson, Fiona FA
2578d848-4a23-4572-9770-584982a71e08
Culliford, David
364cb3dc-7bc9-4458-ae0e-9bf7bd5da493
Aihie Sayer, Avan
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Roberts, Helen
5ea688b1-ef7a-4173-9da0-26290e18f253
Ibrahim, Kinda
54f027ad-0599-4dd4-bdbf-b9307841a294
Howson, Fiona FA
2578d848-4a23-4572-9770-584982a71e08
Culliford, David
364cb3dc-7bc9-4458-ae0e-9bf7bd5da493
Aihie Sayer, Avan
fb4c2053-6d51-4fc1-9489-c3cb431b0ffb
Roberts, Helen
5ea688b1-ef7a-4173-9da0-26290e18f253

Ibrahim, Kinda, Howson, Fiona FA, Culliford, David, Aihie Sayer, Avan and Roberts, Helen (2019) 99. Use of recommended assessments of physical frailty and sarcopenia in hospitalised older people: is it feasible? British Geriatrics Society Communications to the Autumn Meeting, , London, United Kingdom. 14 - 16 Nov 2018. i27-i30 . (doi:10.1093/ageing/afy202.07).

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)

Abstract

Background: frailty and sarcopenia are common among hospitalised older people and associated with poor healthcare outcomes. Recommended gold standard tools for their identification are the Fried Frailty Phenotype and the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria. We studied the feasibility of using these tools on acute wards for older people.

Methods: patients aged 70+ years admitted to acute wards at one UK hospital were prospectively recruited. The Fried Frailty Phenotype (unintentional weight loss; exhaustion; physical activity, gait speed and grip strength) and the 5-item self-reported FRAIL scale questionnaire covering the same domains were measured. Agreement between the two tools was reported using the Cohen kappa statistic. The EWGSOP criteria (gait speed, grip strength and muscle mass) were measured: grip strength using a dynamometer, gait speed timed over 4 metres, and muscle mass with a bedside bioelectrical-impedance machine.

Results: 233 participants (median age 80 years, 60% men) were recruited. Most (221, 95%) had their grip strength measured: 4 (2%) were unable and 8 (3%) had missing data. Only 70 (30%) completed the gait speed assessment: 153 (66%) were unable to walk with missing data on 10 (4%). Only 113 (50%) participants had the bioelectrical impedance assessment. The test was not feasible among 84 (38%): 25 patients declined, 21 were unavailable, 16 had clinical contra-indications, 22 results were technically invalid. Data on 26 (12%) were missing.

230 (99%) patients completed the FRAIL scale and frailty was identified among 77 (34%). Considering inability to complete grip strength or gait speed assessments as low values, data for the Fried Frailty Phenotype was available for 218 (89%) of participants and frailty was identified in 105 (48%). There was a moderate agreement between the two frailty tools (Kappa value of 0.46, 95%CI: 0.34 to 0.58). Complete data for the EWGOSP criteria were only available for 123 (53%) patients among whom 40 (33%) had sarcopenia.

Conclusion: it was feasible to measure grip strength and the FRAIL scale among older inpatients in hospital. Measuring gait speed and muscle mass using bio-impedance to identify sarcopenia was challenging in the acute setting.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 7 February 2019
Venue - Dates: British Geriatrics Society Communications to the Autumn Meeting, , London, United Kingdom, 2018-11-14 - 2018-11-16

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 432913
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/432913
PURE UUID: bd8cd8b3-efed-44e4-83ac-bec15f3b55df
ORCID for Kinda Ibrahim: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5709-3867
ORCID for Helen Roberts: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5291-1880

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 01 Aug 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:17

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Kinda Ibrahim ORCID iD
Author: Fiona FA Howson
Author: David Culliford
Author: Avan Aihie Sayer
Author: Helen Roberts ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×