Rising time from bed in acute phase after hospitalization predicts frailty at hospital discharge in patients with acute heart failure

Abstract

BackgroundThe early prediction of frailty at discharge in elderly patients hospitalized with heart failure (HF) is essential for clinical management and therapeutic decision-making. This study was performed to examine whether the rising time from bed measured immediately after admission can be used as a predictor of frailty in these patients. MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed in a population of 387 consecutive elderly patients with HF. Rising time from bed was measured within 2 days after admission when cardiac rehabilitation was started. Frailty was assessed at hospital discharge using a composite of four markers as a frailty score (range, 0–12): gait speed, handgrip strength, serum albumin, and activities of daily living status. The patients were divided into two groups based on frailty score <5 (non-frail) or ≥5 (frail). ResultsThe study population had a mean age of 75 years and 63.6 % were men. The median rising time was 6.8s, and 53.5 % were classified as frail. After adjustment for various factors, rising time was independently associated with frailty (odds ratio=1.10; 95 % confidence index=1.04–1.18). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of rising time for frailty was 0.71, and the cut-off value for rising time to identify those at high risk of frailty was 7.1s. ConclusionsRising time from bed measured within 2 days after admission was shown to be an independent predictor of frailty at hospital discharge in elderly patients hospitalized for HF.