1. Frailty, cognitive impairment, and chronic limb-threatening ischaemia
- Author
-
Houghton, John S. M.
- Subjects
Frailty ,Cognitive Impairment ,Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia ,medicine ,thesis ,CLTI ,Cardiovascular science - Abstract
Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI) is the end-stage of peripheral artery disease and is characterised by lower limb rest pain, ulceration, or gangrene. Frailty is increasingly recognised as an important factor in health outcomes in older adults, and is frequently associated with cognitive impairment. Those with CLTI are likely to have high rates of both frailty and cognitive impairment due to their age, multi-morbidity and functional performance status. This thesis aimed to investigate the prevalence of frailty and cognitive impairment among individuals with CLTI, their associations with outcomes, and trajectories following intervention. Two systematic reviews, a retrospective cohort study, and a prospective cohort study were undertaken to answer several key research questions. Results from this thesis demonstrate that both frailty and cognitive impairment are highly prevalent among patients with CLTI. Both are strongly associated with each other, and frailty has a complex interrelationship with CLTI. Frailty is related to severity of limb threat, and those with frailty have a greater degree of impaired lower limb function. Frailty is strongly associated with increased perioperative morbidity and mortality, and both frailty and cognitive impairment are likely to have an impact on shared decision making. Successful revascularisation may improve frailty status in a small subset of individuals with CLTI and frailty, although a greater proportion of non-frail patients will transition to frailty at 3 months. Those with frailty may also have a more limited improvement in quality of life following intervention for CLTI. This thesis provides a comprehensive investigation of frailty and cognitive impairment in the context of CLTI, and its results have implications for both clinical practice and future research. Screening for frailty and cognitive impairment are likely to be beneficial for patients, supporting shared decision making and the identification of those most likely to benefit from specialist geriatrician input in the perioperative period.
- Published
- 2022
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