Yunuén Salgado-Leyva, Department of Geriatrics, Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad No. 34, Hospital de Cardiología, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Jesús A. Gómez-García, Department of Geriatrics, Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad No. 34, Hospital de Cardiología, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Marcela Rodríguez-Martínez, Department of Geriatrics, Unidad Médica de Alta Especialidad No. 34, Hospital de Cardiología, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Background: This pioneering study in the Mexican population examines the relationship between frailty and heart failure in elderly patients and its impact on adverse events in a cardiology hospital, with results suggesting the implementation of clinical strategies for frail patients. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between frailty and the development of adverse events in hospitalized patients diagnosed with decompensated heart failure. Material and methods: This observational, cross-sectional, comparative, and retrospective study included patients aged ≥ 70 years who were admitted with decompensated heart failure and underwent geriatric assessment during the period 2021-2024. The number of adverse events was compared between the frail and non-frail patient groups using the statistical package for the social sciences version 22 statistical software. Results: A total of 191 patients, with 77 ± 6.2 of mean years, were analyzed. Frailty was detected in 111 patients (58%), of whom 66% experienced in-hospital complications, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.8 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.3-2.6) p = 0.0001. Frailty was associated with delirium, OR 2.9 (95% CI: 1.2-6.5) p = 0.008, hospital readmission OR 2.7 (95% CI: 1.2-6.3) p = 0.011, and infections OR 2 (95% CI: 0.95-4.2) p = 0.065. Conclusions: Frailty in patients with decompensated heart failure was associated with a higher risk of in-hospital complications, such as delirium, hospital readmission, and infections.
Keywords: Frailty. Decompensated heart failure. Adverse events.
