CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 115Frailty in Older AdultsCOVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesSepsis Diagnosis and Treatment

Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

Open access
COVID-19 Monza Team members, Bellelli, Giuseppe, Rebora, Paola, Valsecchi, Maria Grazia, Bonfanti, Paolo, Citerio, Giuseppe·2020·Intensive Care Medicine
DOI 10.1007/s00134-020-06087-2PMC PMC7246290
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s00134-020-06087-2

Cites

5 of 5 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 10 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    In the cohort, the median Frailty Index score was 0.17 (IQR 0.12-0.26) among the 42 patients who died or were transferred to ICU and 0.07 (IQR 0.05-0.14) among the 63 patients who recovered, with p < 0.001.

    “The FI median score was 0.17 [interquartile ranges, IQR 0.12, 0.26] among the 42 patients died or transferred to ICU and 0.07 [IQR 0.05, 0.14] among the 63 patients who recovered (p < 0.001) (Table 1).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Premisecitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    Frailty is a reliable predictor of clinical and healthcare-related outcomes in intensive care unit and acute hospital settings.

    “The effect of frailty on patient’s clinical outcomes has been examined in several settings of care, including intensive care units (ICU) and acute hospital wards [1, 2], showing to be a reliable predictor of clinical and health care related outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [1] Clegg A, Young J, Iliffe S, Rikkert MO, Rockwood K (2013) Frailty in elderly people. Lancet 381(9868):752–762 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [2] Muscedere J, Waters B, Varambally A et al (2017) The impact of frailty on intensive care unit outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Intensive Care Med 43:1105–1122 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Interpretationown data
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    The Frailty Index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients.

    “Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to the 8th floor of San Gerardo hospital between February 27 and April 7, 2020, is representative of COVID-19 patients generally, so that the association between Frailty Index and poor outcome can be generalised.
    • Rests on an assumption: The Frailty Index, although developed in other populations, is a valid measure of frailty in patients with COVID-19.
  • May combine two claims. 2
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 6

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    In a multivariable logistic model including age, sex, and Frailty Index, age and dichotomized Frailty Index (≥0.25 vs <0.25) were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality or ICU admission, with an odds ratio of 1.32 (95% CI 1.03-1.70).

    “In a multivariable logistic model (see Electronic Supplementary Material), including age, sex and FI, age and the dichotomized FI were independent predictors of inhospital mortality or ICU admission (odds ratio in patients with FI ≥ 0.25 vs < 0.25 1.32, 95% confidence intervals: 1.03; 1.70).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    A Frailty Index constructed with a similar number of variables was superior to other frailty tools in predicting mortality.

    “Importantly, one study has shown that a FI constructed with a similar number of variables was superior to other frailty tools in predicting mortality [4].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [4] Zucchelli A, Vetrano DL, Grande G et al (2019) Comparing the prognostic value of geriatric health indicators: a population-based study. BMC Med 17(1):185 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    Some scientific societies recommend assessing frailty in COVID-19 patients to guide triage.

    “Based on these and other evidences, some scientific societies (https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng159/resources/critical-care-admission-algorithm-pdf-8708948893; https://www.brc-rea.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ethical-decision-making-in-emergencies_COVID19_22032020_final.pdf) are recommending to assess frailty in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection to guide their triage.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng159/resources/critical-care-admission-algorithm-pdf-8708948893

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites https://www.brc-rea.be/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ethical-decision-making-in-emergencies_COVID19_22032020_final.pdf

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductcitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    The 43-variable Frailty Index used in this study provided a sufficient amount of robustness.

    “Overall, we assessed 43 variables, which provided our index with a sufficient amount of robustness [3].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [3] Searle SD, Mitnitski A, Gahbauer EA, Gill TM, Rockwood K (2008) A standard procedure for creating a frailty index. BMC Geriatr 8:24 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    Not all international scientific associations have similar positions on assessing frailty in COVID-19 patients.

    “However, not all international scientific associations have similar positions (https://smw.ch/article/doi/smw.2020.20229; http://www.siaarti.it/SiteAssets/News/COVID19%20-%20documenti%20SIAARTI/SIAARTI%20-%20Covid19%20-%20Raccomandazioni%20di%20etica%20clinica.pdf).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites https://smw.ch/article/doi/smw.2020.20229

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites http://www.siaarti.it/SiteAssets/News/COVID19%20-%20documenti%20SIAARTI/SIAARTI%20-%20Covid19%20-%20Raccomandazioni%20di%20etica%20clinica.pdf

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    Participants with a Frailty Index score of 0.25 or higher were considered frail according to a previous study.

    “According to a previous study, participants with a FI score ≥ 0.25 were considered frails [5].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [5] Song X, Mitnitski A, Rockwood K (2010) Prevalence and 10-year outcomes of frailty in older adults in relation to deficit accumulation. J Am Geriatr Soc 58(4):681–687 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    The Frailty Index is a commonly used tool based on the concept that frailty results from an accumulation of deficits over a lifetime.

    “Frailty was assessed with the Frailty Index (FI), a commonly used tool which is based on the concept that frailty is the result of an accumulation of deficits during lifetime [3].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [3] Searle SD, Mitnitski A, Gahbauer EA, Gill TM, Rockwood K (2008) A standard procedure for creating a frailty index. BMC Geriatr 8:24 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data
    § Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients

    Assessing frailty with an electronic Frailty Index can help clinicians identify COVID-19 patients most likely to require ICU admission and those with poor outcomes.

    “With electronic medical records progressively more available in the hospitals, the assessment of frailty with an electronic FI can help clinicians in their decision-making processes, identifying patients most likely to require ICU admission and those with poor outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
8 of 8

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The cohort of COVID-19 patients admitted to the 8th floor of San Gerardo hospital between February 27 and April 7, 2020, is representative of COVID-19 patients generally, so that the association between Frailty Index and poor outcome can be generalised.

    “Here, we analyzed the data of a cohort of consecutive COVID-19 patients admitted to 8th floor of San Gerardo hospital between February 27th and April 7th, 2020.”
    “Frailty index predicts poor outcome in COVID-19 patients”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Frailty Index, although developed in other populations, is a valid measure of frailty in patients with COVID-19.

    “Frailty was assessed with the Frailty Index (FI), a commonly used tool which is based on the concept that frailty is the result of an accumulation of deficits during lifetime [3].”
2 of 2

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
COVID-19 Monza Team members, Bellelli, G., Rebora, P., Valsecchi, M. G., Bonfanti, P., & Citerio, G.
Affiliations
  • University of Milano-Bicocca (IT)
  • Azienda Ospedaliera San Gerardo (IT)
Corresponding author
Bellelli, Giuseppe
ORCID
Venue
Intensive Care Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-05-25
Volume
46
Issue
8
Pages
1634-1636
ISSN
  • 0342-4642 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-1238
DOI
10.1007/s00134-020-06087-2
PMC
PMC7246290
OpenAlex
W3031053993
Cited by
114
References
5
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Intensive Care Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • BOA (University of Milano-Bicocca) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Frailty in Older Adults
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
Keywords
frailty index, COVID-19 pandemic, frailty assessment, clinical outcome prediction, triage, intensive care unit admission, functional reserve, age-related decline
MeSH terms
Frailty, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Humans, Intensive Care Units, Pneumonia, Viral, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-09-28.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-09-28.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review