Table 1.
Main characteristics of the reviewed studies.
| Authors | Year | Study Design | NO. Of Patients | Age | Frailty Criteria | Setting | Findings | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kundi | 2020 | PCS | 18,234 | ≥65 | HFRS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | The HFRS is a standardized tool for an effective grading of frailty in patients in COVID-19 |
| Hägg | 2020 | PCS | 250 | ≥65 | CFSHFSR | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | The level of frailty is a useful predictor of short-term COVID-19 outcomes in geriatric patients |
| Aw | 2020 | PCS | 677 | ≥65 | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | Frailty is associated with all-cause mortality risk in older inpatients with COVID-19 |
| Owen | 2021 | RCS | 285 | ≥65 | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | Frailty measured using the CFS appeared to make little incremental contribution to the hazard of dying in older people hospitalized with COVID-19 infection |
| Bielza | 2021 | RCS | 630 | ≥70 | CFS | Nursing home | 30-day mortality | A severe form of the disease was associated with mortality, apart from the male sex, CFS ≥6, dementia, and dyspnea, whereas age and care setting were not |
| Mendes | 2020 | RCS | 235 | ≥70 | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | Non-survivors were more often frail |
| Blomaard | 2021 | RCS | 1376 | ≥70 | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | Frailty was independently associated with higher in-hospital mortality, even though COVID-19 patients with frailty presented earlier to the hospital with less severe symptoms |
| Covino | 2021 | RCS | 729 | ≥80 | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | An evaluation based on clinical severity, multi-morbidity, and frailty could effectively predict the clinical risk of in-hospital death for COVID-19 patients ≥80 years since ED admission |
| Darvall | 2020 | RCS | 5607 | ≥65 | CFS | ICU | In-hospital mortality and ICU bed days | Patients with severe and very severe frailty account for relatively few ICU bed days as a result of pneumonia, whilst adjusted mortality analysis indicated little difference in risk between patients in vulnerable, mild, and moderate frailty categories |
| Chinnadurai | 2020 | PCS | 215 | — | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | Older age and frailty are chief risk factors associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients hospitalized to an acute medical unit of a secondary level care |
| Tehrani | 2021 | PCS | 255 | ≥20 | CFS | Hospital | 60-day mortality | In patients aged 65 years or older, CFS level was the strongest prognostic factor for death |
| Brill | 2020 | RCS | 450 | ≥56 | CFS | Hospital | In-hospital mortality | Patients who died had greater median frailty compared to survivors. Such difference was more evident among patients aged 80 or more |
| Miles | 2020 | PCS | 377 | ≥70 | CFS | Hospital | All-cause mortality | For frailty, differences in effect size were evident between cases and non-COVID-19 controls, with an interaction term suggesting that frailty is not a good discriminator of prognosis in COVID-19 |
Prospective cohort study (PCS); Retrospective cohort study (RCS); Clinical frailty scale (CFS); Hospital frailty risk score (HFRS); Intensive care unit (ICU); Emergency department (ED).