Clinical Frailty Scale

The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a simple, judgment-based tool to assess frailty in a clinical setting. It is a 9-point scale, in which a higher score indicates worse frailty. Scoring of this tool is informed by observations gathered by a clinician regarding the mobility, function, cognition, comorbidities, and health symptoms of older patients. Each patient’s profile is then mapped to the common patterns that define degrees of fitness or frailty. The CFS seeks to quantify an individual’s overall health status. This valid tool is highly associated with mortality and other adverse health outcomes. Specifically, each 1-point increase on the CFS is associated with a 12% increase in risk for all-cause mortality. The CFS is a valuable tool to assess and manage the frailty levels of older adults. These features make it a clinically relevant tool that can assist in patient care planning.