Homes RAP, Giddens F, Francis RS, Hubbard RE, Gordon EH, Midwinter MJ. The sublingual microcirculation and frailty index in chronic kidney disease patients.
Microcirculation 2023;
30:e12819. [PMID:
37285445 PMCID:
PMC10909441 DOI:
10.1111/micc.12819]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between sublingual microcirculatory measures and frailty index in those attending a kidney transplant assessment clinic.
METHODS
Patients recruited had their sublingual microcirculation taken using sidestream dark field videomicroscopy (MicroScan, Micro Vision Medical, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and their frailty index score using a validated short form via interview.
RESULTS
A total of 44 patients were recruited with two being excluded due to microcirculatory image quality scores exceeding 10. The frailty index score indicated significant correlations with total vessel density (p < .0001, r = -.56), microvascular flow index (p = .004, r = -.43), portion of perfused vessels (p = .0004, r = -.52), heterogeneity index (p = .015, r = .32), and perfused vessel density (p < .0001, r = -.66). No correlation was shown between the frailty index and age (p = .08, r = .27).
CONCLUSIONS
There is a relationship between the frailty index and microcirculatory health in those attending a kidney transplant assessment clinic, that is not confounded by age. These findings suggest that the impaired microcirculation may be an underlying cause of frailty.
Collapse