Abstract
BACKGROUND: The clinical frailty scale (CFS) was used as a triage tool for medical decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CFS has been posed as a suitable risk marker for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. We evaluated whether the CFS is associated with mortality 24 months after hospitalisation for COVID-19. METHODS: The COvid MEdicaTion (COMET) study is an international, multicentre, observational cohort study, including adult patients hospitalised for COVID-19 between March 2020-July 2020. Patients' characteristics, prescribed medication, clinical characteristics, and CFS were collected at admission, survival data were collected 24 months after hospitalisation. Multivariable cox proportional hazard models stratified by age (<65 and ≥65 years), and adjusted for covariates (age, sex, number of drugs, and types of drug class as a proxy for comorbidities) were used to study the association between the CFS and 24-month mortality after hospitalisation. RESULTS: In this study, 1238 fit (CFS 1-3), 478 mildly frail (CFS 4-5), and 235 frail (CFS 6-9) patients were included for baseline analysis (median age 68 years (IQR 58-78); 58.5 % male). Frailty was associated with an increased risk of 24-month mortality after hospitalisation in older patients (HR 1.91, 95 % CI [1.17-3.12]), in younger adults a trend was seen (HR 3.13, 95 % CI [0.86-11.36]). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the CFS is an indicator for mortality 24 months after hospitalisation in COVID-19 patients.