Frailty Scores and Ethical Decision-Making in Critical Care: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Frailty scores should support, not replace, individualized critical care decisions, as the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the ethical limitations of rigid frailty-based triage, particularly among older adults and individuals with chronic disability. Meaningful recovery may occur despite severe illness, reinforcing the importance of patient autonomy, multidisciplinary assessment, and holistic clinical judgment.