Association of Clinical Frailty Scale with Readmission and Mortality Rate in Hospitalized Older Adults

Background: In this study, we examined the correlation between frailty levels and mortality/readmission rates in older (65+ years) inpatients. Methods: A total of 1,156 individuals aged ≥ 65 years who had been admitted to the emergency department of a tertiary hospital were assessed for frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). With the patients categorized as CFS 1-3, 4-6, or 7-9, multinomial logistic and Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the associations between frailty and short-term readmission and mortality. Results: Patients who were CFS 4-6 had a 5.63% higher risk of short-term readmission (odds ratio [OR], 1.516; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.947-2.427) and a 9.98% higher risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.463; 95% CI, 0.992-2.157) than those categorized as CFS 1-3. Those who were CFS 7-9 had an 8.96% higher risk of short-term readmission (OR, 2.144; 95% CI, 1.284-2.427) and a 23.37% higher risk of mortality (HR, 2.036; 95% CI, 1.349-3.072) than those who were CFS 1-3. Conclusion: CFS can be used to predict short-term readmission to the emergency department in older patients and survival time in a graded manner.