Frailty negatively impacted morbidity, mortality, and healthcare utilization in elderly patients with burns, according to findings published in the Journal of Burn Care & Research. Kathleen A. Iles, MD, and colleagues used data from a large tertiary care burn center to investigate the link between admission frailty and inpatient outcomes in patients with burns who were aged 65 and older. Among 644 patients, including 262 with low frailty, 345 with moderate frailty, and 37 with high frailty, frailty was tied to higher median total body surface area and age at admission. The 30-day cumulative incidence of mortality rates were 2.3%, 7.0%, and 24.3% among those with low, moderate, and high frailty, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, high frailty correlated with greater 30-day mortality compared with low frailty (HR, 5.73; 95% CI, 1.86-17.62). High frailty was also tied to greater morbidity and healthcare utilization, including the need for an intensive care stay (P<0.001) and rehab or care facility at discharge (P<0.001).
