The Clinical Frailty Scale to assess patients referred for intensive care therapy

INTRODUCTION. Decisions to admit patients to intensive care units are often complex, and assessing patients is essential but difficult. In recent years, the Clinical Frailty Scale has been highlighted as a potential assessment tool for triaging patients for admission to the intensive care unit. This study aimed to investigate the clinical differences and Clinical Frailty Scale scores between patients who are refused and those who are admitted to the intensive care unit. METHODS. All patients assessed for intensive care therapy at a Danish hospital from December 2020 to December 2021 were prospectively registered. The patients’ descriptive data, Clinical Frailty Scale scores, three-month mortality rates and reasons for refusal were retrospectively extracted from hospital records. RESULTS. During the study period, 571 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, whereas 106 were refused admission. Patients who were refused had a significantly higher median age, a higher (poorer) Clinical Frailty Scale score and a significantly higher three-month mortality rate than patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit. CONCLUSIONS. The results indicate that the Clinical Frailty Scale may be one of several useful tools when assessing patients for intensive care therapy. However, this assessment is a multifactorial task, and further research needs to be conducted to examine the usefulness of this scale. FUNDING. Lillebaelt Hospital, University Hospital of Southern Denmark and the University of Southern Denmark supported this study. TRIAL REGISTRATION. Not relevant.