Clinical-Functional Vulnerability Index-20: proposal of classification and hierarchy of frail elderly

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify which elderly patients at risk of functional clinical vulnerability should be referred to specialized geriatric-gerontological care, based on the Clinical-Functional Vulnerability Index (IVCF-20) compared to the comprehensive geriatric evaluation, used as the gold standard. Method: The study was cross-sectional, in which the results obtained in the IVCF-20 were compared with the results verified in AGA (Broad Geriatric Evaluation). Considering that elderly people with scores above 6 are at risk of clinical-functional vulnerability, the objective was to define, among these, from which score the elderly would be considered at high risk of vulnerability, based on a high specificity (equal or greater than 95%) and a sensitivity of not less than 50%. Results: A cutoff point of 15 points was identified, with sensitivity of 52% and specificity of 98%. Conclusion: The high specificity obtained indicates that, probably, few elderly at risk with a score equal to or greater than 15 would be unnecessarily referred to specialized gerontological care, thus optimizing the use of health resources.