Co-Occurrence of Sarcopenia and Frailty in Acutely Admitted Older Medical Patients: Results from the Copenhagen PROTECT Study.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia and frailty are often used interchangeably in clinical practice yet represent two distinct conditions and require different therapeutic approaches. The literature regarding the co-occurrence of both conditions in older patients is scarce as most studies have investigated the prevalence of sarcopenia and frailty separately. OBJECTIVES: We aim to evaluate the prevalence and co-occurrence of sarcopenia and frailty in a large sample of acutely admitted older medical patients. DESIGN: Secondary analyses using cross-sectional data from the Copenhagen PROTECT study. SETTING: Patients were included from the acute medical ward at Copenhagen University Hospital, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark, between November 2019 and November 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Acutely admitted older medical patients (≥65 years). MEASUREMENTS: Handgrip strength (HGS) was investigated using a handheld dynamometer. Lean mass (SMI) was investigated using direct-segmental multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analyses (DSM-BIA). Low HGS, low SMI, and sarcopenia were defined according to the recent definitions from the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2). The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) was used to evaluate frailty, with a value > 5 indicating the presence of frailty. Patients were enrolled and tested within 24 hours of admission. RESULTS: This study included 638 patients (mean age: 78.2±7.6, 55% female) with complete records of SMI, HGS, and the CFS. The prevalence of low HGS, low SMI, sarcopenia, and frailty were 39.0%, 33.1%, 19.7%, and 39.0%, respectively. Sarcopenia and frailty co-occurred in 12.1% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: It is well-known that sarcopenia and frailty represent clinical manifestations of ageing and overlap in terms of the impairment in physical function observed in both conditions. Our results demonstrate that sarcopenia and frailty do not necessarily co-occur within the older acutely admitted patient, highlighting the need for separate assessments of frailty and sarcopenia to ensure the accurate characterization of the health status of older patients.

Readmission of older acutely admitted medical patients after short-term admissions in Denmark: a nationwide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of unplanned readmission rates and prognostic factors for readmission among older people after early discharge from emergency departments is sparse. The aims of this study were to examine the unplanned readmission rate among older patients after short-term admission, and to examine risk factors for readmission including demographic factors, comorbidity and admission diagnoses. METHODS: This cohort study included all medical patients aged ≥65 years acutely admitted to Danish hospitals between 1 January 2013 and 30 June 2014 and surviving a hospital stay of ≤24 h. Data on readmission within 30 days, comorbidity, demographic factors, discharge diagnoses and mortality were obtained from the Danish National Registry of Patients and the Danish Civil Registration System. We examined risk factors for readmission using a multivariable Cox regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for readmission. RESULTS: A total of 93,306 patients with a median age of 75 years were acutely admitted and discharged within 24 h, and 18,958 (20.3%; 95% CI 20.1 - 20.6%) were readmitted with a median time to readmission of 8 days (IQR 3 - 16 days). The majority were readmitted with a new diagnosis. Male sex (aHR 1.15; 1.11 - 1.18) and a Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥3 (aHR 2.28; 2.20 - 2.37) were associated with an increased risk of readmission. Discharge diagnoses associated with increased risk of readmission were heart failure (aHR 1.26; 1.12 - 1.41), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (aHR 1.33; 1.25 - 1.43), dehydration (aHR 1.28; 1.17 - 1.39), constipation (aHR 1.26; 1.14 - 1.39), anemia (aHR 1.45; 1.38 - 1.54), pneumonia (aHR 1.15; 1.06 - 1.25), urinary tract infection (aHR 1.15; 1.07 - 1.24), suspicion of malignancy (aHR 1.51; 1.37 - 1.66), fever (aHR 1.52; 1.33 - 1.73) and abdominal pain (aHR 1.12; 1.05 - 1.19). CONCLUSIONS: One fifth of acutely admitted medical patients aged ≥65 were readmitted within 30 days after early discharge. Male gender, the burden of comorbidity and several primary discharge diagnoses were risk factors for readmission.