[Feasibility of assessing frailty in general medicine patients aged over 65]

Frailty is a complex concept that can be assessed with multiple instruments. Its assessment has often been implemented in hospitals. However, first-line prevention of the frailty syndrome is paramount in general medicine. The aim of the study was to test the feasibility and the concordance of two instruments for assessing frailty and to test the adequacy between the level of frailty and the presence of caregivers.

We conducted a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study in Reims during two months. Patients included were 65 and older. Second consultations were not retained. We collected the patients' the SEGA and Fried scores as well as the opinions of the doctor and the resident student on the presence of frailty and the presence or not of home-help.

There was an excellent concurrence between the doctor's assessment and the SEGA score (Kappa=0.89) and a moderate concurrence with the Fried score (Kappa=0.46) compared to 0.95 and 0.50 respectively for the resident student's assessment. The agreement between the assessments of the resident student and the doctor was excellent (Kappa=0.95) the concurrence between frailty and the home-helpers showed that when patients displayed frailty symptoms home-helpers were absent in 69.6% of the cases, but planned in 82.6%.

To conclude, in general medicine, there is no reference score for fraily assessment, whereas the SEGA score is easy to use and reproducible. It can be used as a score of reference for patient assessment and monitoring.