TABLE 2.
Assessment results and paired analyses of the frailty components on Day 1 (T1) and 1 day after (T2) a 5‐day dexamethasone course.
| Day 1 | Day 6 | Paired difference Day 1–6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Mean | IQR | Mean | IQR | Mean Δ | 95% CI | |
| Weight, kg | 86 | 21.6 a | 28.7, 37.5 | 22.1 a | 18.5, 37.9 | −0.05 | −0.2 to 0.1 |
| Appendicular skeletal muscle mass | 83 | ||||||
| Kilogram | 5.4 a | 4, 10.5 | 5 a | 3.8, 10 | −0.55 b | −0.7 to −0.45 | |
| Percentage | 25.03 | 21.71, 27.24 | 23.06 | 20.25, 25.82 | −1.97 | −2.3 to −1.65 | |
| SDS | −0.65 | −1.37, −0.08 | −1.19 | −1.88, −0.59 | −0.54 | −0.65 to −0.44 | |
| Muscle strength | |||||||
| Handgrip strength, dominant hand | 82 | ||||||
| Kilogram | 9.15 a | 6.35, 14.7 | 10.1 a | 7, 16 | 0.65 b | 0.25 to 1.05 | |
| SDS | −0.02 | −0.7, 0.8 | 0.22 | −0.7, 0.98 | 0.24 | 0.13 to 0.35 | |
| Fatigue | |||||||
| PedsQL—MFS | 92 | ||||||
| Total score | 76.39 a | 58.33, 87.85 | 41.67 | 31.6, 57.29 | −24.31 b | −29.17 to −19.44 | |
| SDS | −0.55 | −2.18, 0.53 | −3.17 | −4.6, −2.04 | −2.13 | −2.54 to −1.72 | |
| Slow walking speed | |||||||
| Timed Up and Go test | 91 | ||||||
| Seconds | 5.62 | 4.58, 6.44 | 5.63 | 4.55, 6.33 | 0.02 | −0.19 to 0.23 | |
| SDS | −0.47 | −1.25, 0.13 | −0.42 | −1.33, 0.07 | 0.05 | −0.14 to 0.24 | |
| Physical activity | |||||||
| 3–11 years—questionnaire | 72 | ||||||
| Active minutes per day | 83.57 a | 44.46, 120.18 | 49.29 a | 15, 103.57 | −26.79 b | −39.64 to −15 | |
| 12–18 years—Baecke questionnaire | 6 | ||||||
| Total score | 7.24 a | 6.32, 9.01 | 6.27 a | 5.17, 8.38 | −0.56 b | −1.45 to 0.14 | |
| SDS | −1.71 a | −2.88, −0.27 | −2.93 a | −4, −0.88 | −0.54 b | −1.41 to –0.14 | |
| No. | % | No. | % | p‐value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frailty components | |||||||
| Low skeletal muscle mass | 83 | 20 | 24.1 | 32 | 38.6 | 0.003 | |
| Low handgrip strength | 82 | 10 | 12.2 | 8 | 9.76 | 0.683 | |
| Fatigue | 92 | 35 | 38.04 | 76 | 82.61 | <0.00001 | |
| Slow walking speed | 91 | 4 | 4.4 | 6 | 6.59 | 0.683 | |
| Low physical activity | 78 | 31 | 39.74 | 45 | 57.69 | 0.004 | |
| Sarcopenia | 71 | 2 | 2.8 | 2 | 2.8 | 0.999 | |
| Prefrailty | 102 | 24 | 23.5 | 29 | 28.4 | 0.458 | |
| Frailty | 96 | 4 | 4.2 | 17 | 17.7 | 0.002 | |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; IQR, interquartile range; SDS, standardized deviation score.
a
Median.
b
Median value based on Wilcoxon signed rank test. Bold indicates statistical significance.