Clinical frailty independently predicts early mortality after ischaemic stroke

Clinical frailty is an important syndrome for clinical care and research, independently predicting mortality and rates of institutionalisation in a range of medical conditions. However, there has been little research into the role of frailty in stroke. This study investigates the effect of frailty on 28-day mortality following ischaemic stroke and outcomes following stroke thrombolysis. Frailty was measured using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) for all ischaemic stroke admissions aged ≥75 years. Stroke severity was measured using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). 28-day mortality and clinical outcomes were collected retrospectively. Analysis included both dichotomised measures of frailty (non-frail: CFS 1-4, frail: 5-8) and CFS as a continuous ordinal scale. In 433 individuals with ischaemic stroke, 28-day mortality was higher in frail versus non-frail individuals (39 (16.7%) versus 10 (5%), P