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 Hospital de Cardiología No. 34 Dr. Alfonso J. Treviño Treviño, Centro Médico Nacional del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Nuevo Leon, Monterrey, 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.
