Frailty Assessment in Clinical Practice: Opportunity in the Midst of a Pandemic

Victoria L Keevil; Christopher N Osuafor; Alistair J Mackett; Richard Biram

doi:10.3390/geriatrics5040092

Frailty Assessment in Clinical Practice: Opportunity in the Midst of a Pandemic

Geriatrics (Basel). 2020 Nov 14;5(4):92. doi: 10.3390/geriatrics5040092.

Authors

Victoria L Keevil^{1

2

3}, Christopher N Osuafor^{1

4}, Alistair J Mackett¹, Richard Biram¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine for the Elderly, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
² Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
³ Cambridge Public Health, Forvie Site, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SR, UK.
⁴ Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.

Abstract

Emerging evidence from studies of older adults hospitalised with COVID-19 suggests that there is a high prevalence of frailty in this patient group. We reflect on the measurement of frailty in older patients hospitalized as an emergency and the translation of frailty from a research to a clinical concept. We consider whether, despite the contemporary challenges in the care of older adults as a result of COVID-19, there are opportunities for care quality improvement during a pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; acute care; education and training; frailty.

Publication types

Editorial

Grants and funding

MR/T023902/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom