Abstract
Aim: Frailty is at the core of geriatric syndromes that are characterized by multiple morbidities and mobility disability. The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the frailty scale and muscle mass on the acute phase in hospitalized elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
Methods: Thirty-two elderly patients, aged 75 years or older, hospitalized with CAP and 32 gender- and age-matched controls hospitalized without CAP were recruited. All of them had been able to walk without mobility limitation prior to admission. Frailty scale and muscle mass was assessed as the Reported Edmonton Frail Scale (REFS) and rectus femoris (RF) thickness using ultrasound, respectively. Activity status of life was estimated using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status. Relationships between REFS and muscle mass were evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficient and piece-wise linear regression analysis.
Results: There was a significant increase in the frequency of frailty, which was defined as 8 or more scores of REFS, in CAP patients (50%), compared to controls (22%). Frailty scale was negatively correlated with RF thickness and activity status of life. Based upon the piece-wise linear regression analysis between REFS and RF thickness decreased rapidly with the pre-frailty status in CAP patients.
Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that elderly patients with CAP might have had a significant impairment of physical performance due to decreased thickness of RF prior to admission.
- Copyright ©the authors 2016