Performance Indicators of the SARC-F Questionnaire in Acute Care

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The study applies the Sluggishness, Assistance in walking, Rising from a chair, Climb stairs, Falls (SARC-F) questionnaire in older patients hospitalized in an acute care geriatric unit and aims to determine its performance indicators to screen for sarcopenia according to the revised European Consensus on definition and diagnosis (EWGSOP2) within this population

Detailed Description
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Sarcopenia is an age-related disease associated with health adverse outcomes, i.e. higher risk of mobility limitation, falls, fractures, mortality, and lower quality of life. The European Working Group on Sarcopenia has recently revisited one of the widely used most acknowledged definitions and launched the revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis (EWGSOP2) (4). Applying the EWGSOP2 is a three-tier process: first, screening by the Sluggishness, Assistance in walking, Rising from a chair, Climb stairs, Falls (SARC-F) questionnaire; second, diagnosis by low muscle strength, and low muscle mass; third, severity grading by low muscle function. The EWGSOP2 recommends the assessment of sarcopenia in every population, both in community-dwelling and acute care older patients. However, the evidence about the performance indicators of the SARC-F questionnaire to screen for sarcopenia in acute patients admitted to an acute care unit is really limited.

Official Title
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Performance Indicators of the SARC-F Questionnaire in Acute Care

Conditions
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Sarcopenia, Sensitivity, Old Age; Debility

Intervention / Treatment
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* Diagnostic Test: 5-item SARC-F questionnaire


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Patients aged 65 and over Hospitalized in an acute care geriatric unit due to acute health issues or acute medical conditions With SARC-F, hand-grip strength and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry administered during hospital admission Exclusion Criteria: SARC-F unavailable Unwilling to collaborate in the sarcopenia assessment Unwilling to sign the informed consent

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Intervention/Treatment |
| --- |
|Diagnostic Test: 5-item SARC-F questionnaire|Administration of the 5-item SARC-F questionnaire in patients admitted to an acute care unit|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sensitivity of the SARC-F questionnaire as screening method compared to the gold standard, which is the revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis | Sensitivity, measured as a percentage (%) | September 2019-November 2020 | 
| Specificity of the SARC-F questionnaire as a screening method, compared to the gold standard which is the revised European Consensus on definition and diagnosis of sarcopenia (EWGSOP2) | Specificity, measured as a percentage (%) | September 2019-November 2020 | 
| Overall concordance agreement between the SARC-F questionnaire as a screening method and the gold standard method, which is the EWGSOP2 | Cohen-kappa coefficient, measured as a percentage (%) | September 2019-November 2020 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health adverse outcomes based on the screening and diagnosis of sarcopenia as recommended by the EWGSOP2 | Mortality risk | 1-year follow-up |