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Updated: May 3, 2026

Author Spotlight: Assessing Surgical Frailty with Point-of-Care Ultrasound of Quadriceps Muscles
Published on: July 26, 2024
From sarcopenia to frailty: a road less traveled
John E Morley1, Stephan von Haehling, Stefan D Anker
1Divisions of Geriatric Medicine and Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, 1402 S. Grand Blvd., M238, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA, morley@slu.edu.
Abstract:
The physical frailty phenotype consists of fatigue, weight loss, and loss of muscle power. Sarcopenia has been shown to be a major cause of frailty. Six societies including SCWD published a consensus suggesting that all persons older than 70 years of age should be screened for frailty when seeing health professionals. Simple screening tests such as the FRAIL (fatigue, resistance, aerobic, illness, and loss of weight) scale can be used. It is felt that frailty can be treated by exercise (resistance and aerobic), high quality protein, vitamin D, and treatment of the common causes of fatigue. It is expected that this approach will decrease disability in older persons.
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