Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28676896›Full record

SynthesisIntensive care medicine2017

The impact of frailty on intensive care unit outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

John Muscedere, Braden Waters, Aditya Varambally, Sean M Bagshaw, J Gordon Boyd, David Maslove, Stephanie Sibley, Kenneth Rockwood

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Intensive care medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 353 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
353citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03913299 active not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

Frailty Assessment by Edmonton Frail Scale to Predict Outcome in Patients Undergoing Cardiovascular Surgery "Frail Heart" Study.

Typeobservational_patient_registrySponsorCliniques universitaires Saint-Luc- Université Catholique de LouvainRan2019 to 2026Enrolled2,080ConditionsFrail Elderly Syndrome, Frailty, Surgery
NCT06117462 unknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Frailty in Critical Care Unit's Patients

TypeobservationalSponsorAssiut UniversityRan2023 to 2024Enrolled116ConditionsCFSArmsAssesment of CFS
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

353 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. [Frailty in intensive care medicine].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2026
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  10. Recognise, respond, reflect: A value-based framework for rapid response teams.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2026
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293 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

John MuscedereDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. muscedej@kgh.kari.net.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9027-7198
Braden WatersDivision of Critical Care Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Aditya VaramballySchool of Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA.
Sean M BagshawDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
J Gordon BoydDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
David MasloveDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Stephanie SibleyDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Kenneth RockwoodDepartment of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeFunctional status and chronic health status are important baseline characteristics of critically ill patients. The assessment of frailty on admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) may provide objective, prognostic information on baseline health. To determine the impact of frailty on the outcome of critically ill patients, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing clinical outcomes in frail and non-frail patients admitted to ICU.

methodsWe searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, and Clinicaltrials.gov. All study designs with the exception of narrative reviews, case reports, and editorials were included. Included studies assessed frailty in patients greater than 18 years of age admitted to an ICU and compared outcomes between fit and frail patients. Two reviewers independently applied eligibility criteria, assessed quality, and extracted data. The primary outcomes were hospital and long-term mortality. We also determined the prevalence of frailty, the impact on other patient-centered outcomes such as discharge disposition, and health service utilization such as length of stay.

resultsTen observational studies enrolling a total of 3030 patients (927 frail and 2103 fit patients) were included. The overall quality of studies was moderate. Frailty was associated with higher hospital mortality [relative risk (RR) 1.71; 95% CI 1.43, 2.05; p < 0.00001; I

conclusionsFrailty is common in patients admitted to ICU and is associated with worsened outcomes. Identification of this previously unrecognized and vulnerable ICU population should act as the impetus for investigating and implementing appropriate care plans for critically ill frail patients. Registration: PROSPERO (ID: CRD42016053910).

Indexed as

Hospital MortalitySeverity of Illness IndexAdultAge FactorsCritical IllnessFrailtyHumansIntensive Care UnitsLength of StayObservational Studies as TopicPrevalenceProspective StudiesRisk FactorsTreatment OutcomeClinical frailty scaleCritically illFrail elderlyFrailtyFrailty indexSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID28676896
PMCPMC5501903

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.