Hand grip strength, short physical performance battery, and gait speed: key tools for function in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

This study aimed to determine which performance assessment tools included in Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) are the most sensitive for the functional approach in the initial evaluation and during the therapy of old adults diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). We prospectively recruited 31 patients aged 70 years or older presenting for an initial consultation in the Hematology Clinic of a tertiary hospital. We implemented an updated physical performance evaluation as part of CGA at baseline and during treatment. Baseline characteristics of the sample were compared according to age, Geriatric 8 (G8), frailty, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and sarcopenia measured by hand grip strength (HGS). Functional changes were monitored during the treatment period using HGS, gait speed (GS) and SPPB. The mean age was 79.0 (5.5) years and 51.6% of the sample was frail; 65,5% were treated with standard chemotherapy and 35,5% with a therapeutic regimen with attenuated doses. All the assessment tools included in CGA found functional differences at baseline when the sample was stratified and compared according to frailty, sarcopenia, and SPPB, but not according to G8 score and age. Only SPPB was able to detect functional differences between groups stratified by age at baseline. GS was the only score that identified clinically significant functional changes during the treatment. In conclusion, HGS and SPPB are appropriate performance scores to complete the functional approach in the initial hematologic evaluation, and GS is a promising option to detect functional decline during therapy in old adults with DLBCL.

Treatment Individualization in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Is Frailty Enough for Old Adults? An Original Article.

INTRODUCTION: Toxicity risk evaluation based on frailty assessment is recommended for treatment individualization in old adults with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, no specific assessment method to guide decision-making has been established yet. Here, we implement a therapeutic algorithm based on the information obtained in an updated comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) to assess the value that other prognostic factors add to frailty. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We prospectively recruited 31 patients aged 70 or older recently diagnosed with DLBCL. Standard dose regimen R-CHOP and dose-attenuated R-miniCHOP were the therapeutic options. A CGA-based algorithm was used for the initial treatment recommendation. The sample was compared according to frailty and treatment allocation to describe baseline differential characteristics and treatment tolerance. RESULTS: Mean age was 79 (SD: 5.5) and 45.1% were above 80. Half of the patients (51.6%) were frail; their survival was inferior to that observed in fit adults (p: .034). The mean Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score of patients responding to therapy was higher than non-responders´ media (8.6 vs. 5.9; p: .022). However, when RCHOP was allocated to high functional patients within fit and frail groups, no differences in survival were found compared to R-miniCHOP. The prevalence of toxic events was higher with the standard regimen in fit (p: .054) and frail patients (p: 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of frailty and physical performance assessment in an algorithm is a promising method to guide the decision-making process in old adults with DLBCL. SPPB might complete frailty predictive information on toxicity risk.

Relationship between frailty, polypharmacy, and underprescription in older adults living in nursing homes.

PURPOSE: Frailty, polypharmacy, and underprescription are considered a major matter of concern in nursing homes, but the possible relationships between them are not well known. The aim is to examine the possible association between medication underprescription, polypharmacy, and frailty in older people living in nursing homes. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis from a concurrent cohort study, including 110 subjects ≥ 65 years living in two nursing homes. Four frailty scales were applied; polypharmacy was defined as ≥ 5 medications and underprescription was measured with Screening Tool to Alert to Right Treatment (START) criteria. Logistic regression models were performed to assess the associations. RESULTS: The mean age was 86.3 years (SD 7.3) and 71.8% were female. 73.6% of subjects took ≥ 5 chronic medications and 60.9% met one or more START criteria. The non-frail participants took more medications than the frail subjects according to the imputated frailty Fried criteria (8.1 vs 6.7, p = 0.042) and the FRAIL-NH scale (7.8 vs 6.8, p = 0.026). Multivariate analyses did not find an association between frailty and polypharmacy. Frail participants according to the Fried criteria met a higher number of START criteria (1.9 vs 1.0, p = 0.017), and had a higher prevalence of underprescription (87.5 vs 50.0%), reaching the limit of statistical significance in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: The positive association found in previous studies between frailty and polypharmacy cannot be extrapolated to institutionalized populations. There is a trend towards higher rates of underprescription in frail subjects. Underprescription in frail older adults should be redefined and new strategies to measure it should be developed.