Looking for frailty in community-dwelling older persons: The Gerontopole Frailty Screening Tool (GFST)

• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-013-0363-6
• Publication Date: 2013-08-06T11:18:02Z
• Authors: B. Vellas; L. Balardy; S. Gillette-Guyonnet; G. Abellan Van Kan; A. Ghisolfi-Marque; J. Subra; S. Bismuth; S. Oustric; Matteo Cesari
• Keywords: Frailty syndrome

The frailty syndrome is a pre-disability condition suitable to be targeted by preventive interventions against disability. In order identify frail older persons at risk of negative outcomes, general practitioners must provided with an easy and quick screening tool for detecting without special effort. the present paper, we that Gérontopôle Toulouse (France) has developed implemented in primary care region collaboration Department Family Medicine University Toulouse. Frailty Screening Tool (GFST) designed administered aged ≥65 years no physical disability acute clinical disease. It composed initial questionnaire aimed attracting practitioner’s attention very signs and/or symptoms suggesting presence underlying status. Then, second section, practitioner expresses his/her own view about status individual. judgment finally retained determining eventual frailty. Preliminary data document almost everyone (95.2%) 442 patients referred clinic using GFST indeed presents (pre-)frailty according criteria proposed Fried colleagues Cardiovascular Health Study. use may help raising awareness importance identifying frailty, training healthcare professionals detection syndrome, developing disabling conditions.