Does assessing frailty in lung transplant candidates on the waiting list provide information?

Introduction: Lung transplant (LT) is one of the therapeutic options for patiens with terminal respiratory diseases. It is highly important to incorporate de functional status assessment into the selection process of candidates for lung transplantation, as well as improving rehabilitation program strategies to prevent the risk of frailty during the waiting list. There is evidence that frailty is atributable to advanced organ diseases and that it can be reversed once the function of the organ tat fails is restored. Objective: Identify the incidence of frailty in the LT waiting list for LT. Methodology: Prospective single-center longitudinal study of patients on the waiting list for lung transplant. 74 patients with chronic respiratoriy diseases assessed by the lung transplant committee and accepted to be transplanted in our center. We assessed frailty, muscular dysfunction, functional capacity and lung allocations score (LAS). The results were analyzed with the SPSS statistical package. Results: Sample 48 men and 26 women, with a median agen of 56,55 years (SD 10,87) with LAS average of 35.34 (SD3.8). The incidence of frailty assessed with share-fi is 28,38% and with SPPB 8,1%. As for muscular strength, we obtained the following results: handgrip dynamometry 30.97 Kg, quadriceps dynamometry an average of 17.03 Kg and maximum inspiratory pressure of 65.91%. There is a relationship between the risk of frailty, the meters walked and the maximal inspiratory pressure but not with the LAS. Conclusions: The risk of frailty in patients with terminal chronic respiratory diseases is high, thus it becomes important to conduct a thorough evaluation of frailty in the assessment of lung transplant candidates.