Comparison of the Freiburg and Charlson Comorbidity Indices in Predicting Overall Survival in Elderly Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Table 1

Definitions of the Charlson and Freiburg comorbidity indices.

Weight	Condition	Definition
Charlson comorbidity index
1	Myocardial infarct	Hospitalization and electrocardiographic and/or enzyme change
	Congestive heart failure	Exertional or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea and responded symptomatically (or on physical examination) to digitalis, diuretics, or afterload reducing agents
	Peripheral vascular disease	Intermittent claudication or prior bypass for arterial insufficiency; gangrene or acute arterial insufficiency; untreated thoracic or abdominal aneurysm (≥6 cm)
	Cerebrovascular disease	Cerebrovascular accident with minor or no residual and transient ischemic attacks
	Dementia	Chronic cognitive deficit
	Chronic pulmonary disease	Moderate: dyspneic with slight activity, with or without treatment, and dyspneic with moderate activity despite treatment; Severe: dyspneic at rest, despite treatment, requires constant oxygen; CO2 retention and a baseline PO2 below 50 torr
	Connective tissue disease	SLE, PM, MCTD, polymyalgia rheumatic, and moderate to severe RA
	Ulcer disease	Required treatment for ulcer disease, including bleeding from ulcers
	Mild liver disease	Cirrhosis without portal hypertension or chronic hepatitis
	Diabetes	Mild: treated with insulin or oral hypoglycemics, but not with diet alone. Moderate: previous hospitalizations for ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar coma, or/and those with juvenile onset or brittle diabetics
2	Hemiplegia	Dense hemiplegia or paraplegia, as a result of either a cerebrovascular accident or other conditions
	Moderate or severe renal disease	Severe: on dialysis, had a transplant, and with uremia. Moderate: serum creatinine > 3 mg%
	Diabetes with end organ damage	Severe: with retinopathy, neuropathy, or nephropathy
	Any tumor	Solid tumors without documented metastases, but initially treated in the last 5 years
	Leukemia	AML, CML, ALL, CLL, and PV
	Lymphoma	HD, lymphosarcoma, WM, myeloma, and other lymphomas
3	Moderate or severe liver disease	Severe: cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and a history of variceal bleeding. Moderate: cirrhosis with portal hypertension, but without history of variceal bleeding
6	Metastatic solid tumor	Metastatic solid tumors
	AIDS	Define or probable AIDS (i.e., AIDS related complex)
Freiburg comorbidity index
1	Renal impairment	eGFRMDRD ≤ 30 mL/min/1.73 m^2
	Performance status	Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score ≤ 70
	Moderate or severe lung disease	Same as CCI

Abbreviations: SLE, systemic lupus erythematous; PM, polymyositis; MCTD, mixed connective tissue disease; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; AML, acute myelogenous leukemia; CML, chronic myelogenous leukemia; ALL, acute lymphocytic leukemia; CLL, acute lymphocytic leukemia; PV, polycythemia vera; HD, Hodgkin disease; WM, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia; AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome; eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; MDRD, modification of diet in renal disease; CCI, Charlson comorbidity index.