Frailty and Function in Heart Failure: Predictors of 30-Day Hospital Readmission?

Although there have been decreases noted in 30-day readmission rates for persons with heart failure since enactment of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, costs related to heart failure readmissions remain high. Consequently, there is a need to better identify persons with heart failure who are at risk for 30-day hospital readmission. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the ability of measures of function and frailty to predict 30-day hospital readmissions for adults 65 years and older with heart failure.

Secondary data analysis using the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study analysis merged with Medicare claims data. Logistic regression modeling was used to compare the ability of function (Short Physical Performance Battery) and frailty (Fried's Physical Frailty Phenotype) to predict 30-day readmission. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to examine the ability of function and frailty to identify those who were readmitted.

Frailty and function demonstrated comparable ability to predict 30-day readmissions (R2 = 0.087 and R2 = 0.087, respectively). Neither measure identified persons at risk for readmission (AUCSPPB = 0.608; AUCPFP = 0.587).

Functional assessment demonstrated comparable ability to predict 30-day readmissions in persons with heart failure compared with frailty. However, neither measure was able to identify persons at high risk for readmission. Although frailty status is emphasized in research for older adults with heart failure, functional status is an important patient-level factor associated with readmission.