Comparison of Clinical Frailty Scale and Edmonton Frail Scale in older adults presenting to the emergency department

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to compare the prognostic values of Edmonton Frail Scale and Clinical Frailty Scale in the emergency department and determine their suitability for patient management. Materials and Method: This study was conducted as a single-center prospective observational study. Patients aged 65 and older who presented to the emergency department were included. Clinical Frailty Scale and Edmonton Frail Scale scores, the emergency department outcomes, length of stay in the emergency department, 30-day mortality, and 30-day readmission data of the patients were recorded. ROC analysis was performed to examine the predictive values on outcomes. DeLong Test was used to compare the predictive values. Results: This study included 400 patients. Intensive care unit admission was significantly more frequent in the frail group according to both Edmonton Frail Scale and Clinical Frailty Scale. The length of stay in the emergency department was significantly longer in the frail group in both classifications. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the frail group in both classifications. The optimal cut off value for predicting mortality was found to be 9 for Edmonton Frail Scale and 7 for Clinical Frailty Scale. There was no significant difference between the predictive values of two scales. Conclusion: We found that two frail scales have good predictive values for adverse outcomes, such as mortality and the need for Intensive care unit admission in the emergency department. We believe that both scores would be valuable in guiding decisions for the emergency department usage due to their similar predictive values. Keywords: Geriatrics; Emergency Service; Hospital; Frailty; Frail Elderly; Mortality.