Relationship between clinical outcomes and Dutch frailty score among elderly patients who underwent surgery for hip fracture

BACKGROUND: Frailty is a geriatric condition that is associated with an increased risk of mortality and functional decline. To date, mainly the Groningen Frailty Indicator (GFI) and Hospital Safety Management (VeiligheidsManagementSysteem [VMS]) frailty score are used to determine frailty in several hospitals in the Netherlands. However, it is yet unknown, which method has the best predictive value on clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of GFI and VMS on clinical outcomes among patients who underwent hip fracture surgery. DESIGN: This is a prospective observational cohort study. METHODS: We selected all patients aged 70 years or higher, who underwent hip fracture surgery in our general hospital, between November 2014 and November 2015. Among all patients, VMS, GFI and Barthel-20 index (BI) were assessed. McNemar’s paired test and Cohen’s κ were used to examine the difference and the level of agreement between the two scoring methods. Kaplan–Meier and multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine overall survival and mortality, respectively, 3 years and 30 days after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 280 patients were included in the study. The median follow-up was 25 months. No systematic difference was found between the two methods (P=0.237), while a fair level of agreement could be measured (κ=0.363 [95% CI =0.23–50]). VMS showed a statistically significant difference in overall survival as compared to nonfrail patients (57 vs 80%, respectively [P(logrank) <0.001] with an HR of 3.5 [95% CI =2.1–5.7; P<0.001]). Classification according to GFI yielded a lower but still significant HR 2.3 (95% CI =1.2–4.1; P=0.008). CONCLUSION: VMS can be used in classifying frailty, whereby VMS frailty score is associated with clinical outcomes as overall survival mortality in older patients with hip fracture and who underwent surgery.