BACKGROUND

Frailty status among critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) is not well described despite its importance for prognostication and informed decision-making on life-sustaining therapies. In this study, we aim to describe the epidemiology of frailty in a cohort of older critically ill patients with severe AKI, the outcomes of patients with pre-existing frailty before AKI and the factors associated with a worsening frailty status among survivors.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of a prospective multicentre observational study that enrolled older (age > 65 years) critically ill patients with AKI. The clinical frailty scale (CFS) score was captured at baseline, at 6 months and at 12 months among survivors. Frailty was defined as a CFS score of ≥ 5. Demographic, clinical and physiological variables associated with frailty as baseline were described. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to describe the association between frailty and 90-day mortality. Demographic and clinical factors associated with worsening frailty status at 6 months and 12 months were described using multivariable logistic regression analysis and multistate models.

RESULTS

Among the 462 patients in our cohort, median (IQR) baseline CFS score was 4 (3-5), with 141 (31%) patients considered frail. Pre-existing frailty was associated with greater hazard of 90-day mortality (59% (n = 83) for frail vs. 31% (n = 100) for non-frail; adjusted hazards ratio [HR] 1.49; 95% CI 1.11-2.01, p = 0.008). At 6 months, 68 patients (28% of survivors) were frail. Of these, 57% (n = 39) were not classified as frail at baseline. Between 6 and 12 months of follow-up, 9 (4% of survivors) patients transitioned from a frail to a not frail status while 10 (4% of survivors) patients became frail and 11 (5% of survivors) patients died. In multivariable analysis, age was independently associated with worsening CFS score from baseline to 6 months (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.08; 95% CI 1.03-1.13, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Pre-existing frailty is an independent risk factor for mortality among older critically ill patients with severe AKI. A substantial proportion of survivors experience declining function and worsened frailty status within one year.