Approaches to optimally target frailty screening among people with HIV in clinical care: findings from the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40243191/ An AHRQ-funded study in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome suggests that using a simple, targeted approach to screen for frailty among people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) could reduce clinic burden while maintaining high accuracy. Frailty—a condition marked by fatigue, weight loss, and reduced physical function—can raise the risk of poor health outcomes. Researchers analyzed data from 9,592 people with HIV across six U.S. sites and found that 11 percent were frail. While screening everyone over age 50 cut workload in half, it identified only 55 to 58 percent of frail patients. In contrast, screening based on a combination of age, gender, and depression symptoms identified 89 percent of frail patients while limiting screening to 43 percent of the population. Though more complex than age-only methods, these multifactor approaches offer a balanced path forward for HIV clinics seeking to integrate frailty screening into routine care.