Frailty Pathogenesis, Assessment, and Management in Older Adults With COVID-19

• Main Authors: Quan She, Bo Chen, Wen Liu, Min Li, Weihong Zhao, Jianqing Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-07-01
• Series: Frontiers in Medicine
• Subjects: COVID-19; frailty; pathogenesis; assessment; management
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.694367/full

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious and deadly disease. The elderly people are often accompanied by chronic inflammation and immunodeficiency, showing a frail state. The strength, endurance, and physiological function of the elderly are significantly decreased, and the ability to deal with stress response is weakened. They are the high-risk group that suffering from COVID-19, and rapidly developing to critical illness. Several recent studies suggest that the incidence rate of COVID-19 in elderly patients with frailty is high. Early assessment, detection, and effective intervention of frailty in COVID-19 patients are conducive to significantly improve the quality of life and improve prognosis. However, there are insufficient understanding and standards for the current evaluation methods, pathogenesis and intervention measures for COVID-19 combined with frailty. This study reviews the progress of the research on the potential pathogenesis, evaluation methods and intervention measures of the elderly COVID-19 patients with frailty, which provides a reference for scientific and reasonable comprehensive diagnosis and treatment in clinical.