Incorporating frailty into traditional burn mortality models enhanced predictions of in-hospital mortality among adults aged 50 and older, according to results published in the Journal of Burn Care & Research. Daniel S. Rubin, MD, MS, and colleagues examined frailty’s effect on predictions of in-hospital mortality among 60,515 weighted discharges of older patients with burns, as traditional models do not factor in geriatric-specific conditions like frailty. Multivariable logistic regression models included 1) age and percent total body surface area (TBSA); 2) age, percent TBSA, and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (ECI); and 3) age, percent TBSA, and the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS). In-hospital mortality rose with age; 3.3% of patients aged 50-64 died during acute burn admission, compared with 9.9% of patients aged 85 and older. The model including the HFRS had a higher area under the receiver operating characteristics curve than the model with age and percent TBSA (0.84 vs 0.79; P<0.001) and the model with the ECI (0.84 vs 0.83; P=0.013). Burn specialists should consider using a measure of frailty to assess older adults, Dr. Rubin and colleagues noted.”
