Frailty and outcome in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome

Frailty is superior to chronological age as a predictor of outcome. The Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS) is a simple valid measure of frailty, covering multiple important domains, with scores ranging from 0 (not frail) to 17 (very frail). The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the EFS in a group of elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

The EFS was administered to 183 consecutive patients with ACS aged ≥ 65 years admitted to a single centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Scores ranged from 0-13. Patients with higher EFS scores were older, with more comorbidities, longer lengths of stay (EFS 0-3: mean, 7.0 days; EFS 4-6: mean, 9.7 days; and EFS ≥ 7: mean, 12.7 days; P = 0.03), and decreased procedure use. Crude mortality rates at 1 year were 1.6% for EFS 0-3, 7.7% for EFS 4-6, and 12.7% for EFS ≥ 7 (P = 0.05). After adjusting for baseline risk differences using a "burden of illness" score, the hazard ratio for mortality for EFS ≥ 7 compared with EFS 0-3 was 3.49 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-7.61; P = 0.002).

The EFS is associated with increased comorbidity, longer lengths of stay, and decreased procedure use. After adjustment for burden of illness, the highest frailty category is independently associated with mortality in elderly patients with ACS. Further work is needed to determine whether the use of a validated frailty instrument would better delineate medical decision making in this important, often disadvantaged population.