title: Validating SPICES as a Screening Tool for Frailty Risks among Hospitalized Older Adults.
abstract: Older patients are vulnerable to adverse hospital events related to frailty. SPICES, a common screening protocol to identify risk factors in older patients, alerts nurses to initiate care plans to reduce the probability of patient harm. However, there is little published validating the association between SPICES and measures of frailty and adverse outcomes. This paper used data from a prospective cohort study on frailty among 174 older adult inpatients to validate SPICES. Almost all patients met one or more SPICES criteria. The sum of SPICES was significantly correlated with age and other well-validated assessments for vulnerability, comorbid conditions, and depression. Individuals meeting two or more SPICES criteria had a risk of adverse hospital events three times greater than individuals with either no or one criterion. Results suggest that as a screening tool used within 24 hours of admission, SPICES is both valid and predictive of adverse events.
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Harriet Udin
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Aronow
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Borenstein
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haus
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Glenn D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Braunstein
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
authors.forename: Linda Burnes
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Bolton