Frailty and mobility in hospitalized older adults: an analytical cross sectional study.
Maria Helena Lenardt, Clovis Cechinel, João Alberto Martins Rodrigues and 3 others
PMID 41191686WHAT IT FOUND
Frail hospitalized older adults had much lower mobility than non-frail and prefrail patients.
Prefrail and non-frail patients did not differ. This association was measured at admission, so it cannot show frailty caused the mobility loss.
Key findings
01Frail participants had lower total Perme mobility scores than non-frail and prefrail participants (p < 0.001).
02Prefrail and non-frail participants did not differ in total Perme mobility scores (p = 0.1409).
03Frail participants had lower scores across all Perme mobility categories than non-frail and prefrail participants.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional study, so it cannot show that frailty caused lower mobility or that mobilization would improve outcomes. It was done in a single hospital and excluded patients in critical condition or under droplet precautions, so it may not apply to sicker hospitalized older adults. Mobility was measured from physical therapy notes on the same day, not repeatedly during the stay, so it may not capture mobility progression. Missing Perme scores were reported for 7.4% of non-frail participants. The authors note a gap in prior studies linking the Perme score with frailty, which limits comparison with other work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that frailty caused reduced mobility or that early mobilization will improve outcomes. The study compared groups at admission and did not test an intervention.