Clinical_frailty_scale v.1

Clinical frailty scale is a scale that enables the grading of fragility/disability and is suitable for risk stratification in, for example, emergency care and cardiology.

Therese Lindberg

therese.lindberg@cambio.se

@CambioCDS

To grade the fragility of elderly patients with dementia.

The Clinical frailty scale: 1. Very vital - individuals who are strong, active, energetic and motivated. They often exercise regularly. They are among those who are in the best condition for their age. 2. Vital - individuals who have no disease symptoms but are in worse condition than individuals in category 1. They often exercise or are occasionally very active, for example depending on the season. 3 .Doing well - individuals whose medical problems are well controlled, but who are not regularly active in addition to regular walks. 4. Vulnerable - does not depend on the help of others in everyday life, but often has symptoms that limit their activities. A common complaint is that they are limited ("slowed down") and / or get tired during the day. 5. Mild fragility - these individuals are often obviously slower, and need help with complex IADL (instrumental activities of daily living) activities (finances, transportation, heavy housework, medication). Mild fragility generally impairs the ability to shop and go out on your own, cook and do housework. 6. Moderately fragile - individuals who need help with all outdoor activities and housework. Indoors, they often have problems with stairs, need help with washing, and may need minimal help (encouragement, support) to get dressed. 7. Severely fragile - is completely dependent on others for personal self-care regardless of cause (physical or cognitive). Nevertheless, they appear to be stable and without a high risk of dying (within about 6 months). 8. Very seriously fragile - completely addicted, nearing the end of life. They can generally not recover even from a mild illness. 9. Terminally ill - nearing the end of life. This category includes individuals with a life expectancy of less than 6 months with no other obvious signs of fragility. Assessment - To estimate the fragility of individuals with dementia: The degree of fragility corresponds to the degree of dementia. 1-4. No dementia suspected. 5. Mild dementia: Common symptoms are forgetting details about a recent event but remembering the event itself, that repeat the same question/story and to withdraw socially. 6. Moderate dementia: short-term memory is greatly impaired, while the individual seems to have a good ability to remember events earlier in life. They can perform their personal self-care on request. 7–8. Severe dementia: they cannot perform personal self-care without help. 9. Terminally ill.

1. W Ekdahl A, Ekerstad N, Alfredsson J, Johanzon M, Metzner C, Strandberg T, Wilhelmson K, Cederholm T. Skörhetsbegreppet viktigt för att förstå den äldre patientens behov. Läkartidningen. 2020;117:F3HE.

EVALUATION.clinical_frailty.v0