Identifying Modifiable PAtient Centered Therapeutics (IMPACT) Frailty

Frailty is the decline in physical and cognitive reserves leading to increased vulnerability to stressors such as surgery or disease states. Frailty is not a disease, but a syndrome with a distinct frail phenotype that includes decreased status in mobility, muscle mass, nutritional status, strength, and endurance. Frail patients are at greater risk of adverse outcomes, such as functional decline, prolonged hospitalization with associated increases in healthcare costs and death. Multiple measures of frailty exist and although they are important for understanding risk for a given patient population or resource utilization, they do not provide any insight as to how to manage or treat frail patients.

In critically ill patients, sarcopenia has long been tied to poor outcomes, poor nutrition status, and decreased ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). We hypothesize that sarcopenia as a marker for frailty in critically ill patients can be used to track development and recovery of frailty.

The objective of this proposal to create a prospective cohort study of critically ill patients to identify modifiable risk factors of sarcopenia as potential targets for therapeutic measures to improve or reverse frailty.

The primary aim of the study is to track sarcopenia in critically ill patients. Sarcopenia is a measure of frailty and is associated with worse outcomes in critically ill patients. The aim to understand how the kinetics of sarcopenia differ in critically ill population given the heterogeneity of with various disease process which may affect the degree and rate of muscle wasting. Understanding the disease process is important in identifying when or how to intervene to obtain meaningful recovery.

Secondary aims are to assess the role biomarkers in patients across the frailty spectrum to understand their role frailty. Additionally nutrition is well known to affect sarcopenia and nutritional status is a key component in frailty. Nutrition status will be tracked to understand development of sarcopenia.

Inclusion criteria

• Adult patients admitted to the Surgical, Cardiothoracic or Neuro ICU
• ICU stay longer than 24 hours

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with muscular or mitochondrial diseases affecting muscle quality or mass
• Preexisting paralysis
• Absence of lower limbs
• Ongoing discussions about goals of care
• Transfers from a skilled nursing facility
• Children under the age of 18