This exploratory prospective cohort study assesses the occurrence of physical, mental, and cognitive symptoms among ICU patients in the Netherlands who survived
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Two studies today suggest that COVID-19 patients who are very frail or have a cardiac arrest are two three times more likely to die than those not infected with the virus.
Frailty, COVID-19, and critical care
The first study, an observational investigation led by researchers at the University of Birmingham in England and published in
Age and Ageing, involved 5,711 COVID-19 patients with a median age of 74 years at 55 hospitals in 12 countries.
The investigators found that the risk of death rose with advancing age, with those older than 80 at 3.6 times the risk of death as those 18 to 49. Very frail COVID-19 patients (Clinical Frailty Score [CFS], 8) were 3.0 times more likely to die than those with a low score (1 to 3), independent of age. CFS scores of 4 to 9 were associated with increased likelihood of adverse outcomes. Frailty is a state in which the body is more susceptible to the effects of illness.