Canadian Geriatrics Journal· 2020Q2
Using the Clinical Frailty Scale in Allocating Scarce Health Care Resources
- 899citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2020year
Short summary
The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) has been updated to version 2.0, featuring revised level names (e.g., 'vulnerable' to 'living with very mild frailty') and minor edits to descriptions, to guide its appropriate use in allocating scarce healthcare resources, particularly for COVID-19 management.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) assesses frailty by measuring health deficits that erode higher-order functions like cognition, self-care, social interaction, and mobility.
- CFS version 2.0 introduces revised level names (e.g., 'vulnerable' to 'living with very mild frailty') and minor edits to level descriptions.
- The scale is primarily intended for assessing baseline frailty and is not widely validated in younger populations or those with stable single-system disabilities.
- Appropriate use of CFS, which requires clinical judgment, is critical as it is increasingly used as a triage tool for allocating scarce healthcare resources, such as in COVID-19 management.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The key idea behind the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is that, as people age, they are more likely to have things wrong with them. Those things they have wrong (health deficits) can, as they accumulate, erode their ability to do the high order functions which define their overall health. These high order functions include being able to: think and do as they please; look after themselves; interact with other people; and move about without falling. The Clinical Frailty Scale brings that information together in one place. This paper is a guide for people new to the Clinical Frailty Scale. It also introduces an updated version (CFS version 2.0), with revised level names (e.g., "vulnerable" becomes "living with very mild frailty") and minor edits to level descriptions. The key points discussed are that the Clinical Frailty Scale assays the baseline state, it is not widely validated in younger people or those with stable single-system disabilities, and it requires clinical judgement. The Clinical Frailty Scale is now commonly used as a triage tool to make important clinical decisions such as allocating scarce health care resources for COVID-19 management; therefore, it is important that the scale is used appropriately.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 2020 · DOI ↗
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Field: Geriatrics and Gerontology
Geriatrics and GerontologyMedicine