Frailty and Perioperative Outcomes

Abstract

Purpose of Review: Frailty is associated with serious adverse outcomes, such as disability, health care utilization, and death in the perioperative period. In this review, we discuss surgical outcomes in a frail individual, and risk stratification for a frail individual. Recent Findings: Frailty is associated with increased length of hospital stay and 30- and 90-day mortality. The data on association of frailty on discharge to home and quality of life is scant, but it is likely that they are closely related. Prehabilitation involving a diet and exercise program seems to improve outcomes in the frail surgical candidates. Summary: Making a surgical decision in frail patients is complex. Frailty is commonly associated with the older age group. The balance between high operative risk and the potential benefits of surgery is not always clear. The challenge lies in effectively identifying patients that will benefit most from operative intervention and then optimize them for surgery.Copyright © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.