A new study of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older undergoing non-cardiac surgeries has revealed that frailty is a significant predictor of postoperative outcomes, regardless of the type of surgery performed. Frail patients faced notably higher mortality rates at 30 and 365 days post-surgery, increased readmission rates at 30 days, and substantial home time loss over a year compared to their robust counterparts after major and minor surgical procedures.
The frailest patients resuscitated during noncardiac surgery had a 1 in 3 chance of surviving a month, in an analysis that adds to a clinical topic with few published studies.
Study: Patients should be assessed for frailty before considering multiple surgeries
Patients should be assessed for frailty before having many types of surgery, even if the surgery is considered low risk, a review of two national patient databases shows.
Frailty is a clinical syndrome marked by slow walking speed, weak grip, poor balance, exhaustion and low physical activity. It is an important risk factor for death after surgery, although the association between frailty and mortality across surgical specialties is not well understood.
The study, conducted by faculty at multiple institutions including The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), mined patient data from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.
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