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Author Spotlight: Assessing Surgical Frailty with Point-of-Care Ultrasound of Quadriceps Muscles
Published on: July 26, 2024
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Screening for Frailty in Thoracic Surgical Patients
Angela K Beckert1, Megan Huisingh-Scheetz2, Katherine Thompson2
1Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
|October 11, 2016
Summary
A high proportion of older adults undergoing thoracic surgery are frail or prefrail, indicating underrecognition. Preoperative frailty reduction interventions could benefit many surgical candidates.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Surgical Outcomes
- Public Health
Background:
- Frailty and prefrailty increase postsurgical complication risk in older adults.
- Long-term exercise can improve the frailty phenotype.
- The impact of short-term preoperative frailty interventions on surgical risk is unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of frailty and prefrailty in thoracic surgical clinic patients.
- To identify the proportion of patients who could benefit from a frailty reduction intervention prior to surgery.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study at a single thoracic surgical clinic.
- Screening of surgical candidates aged 60+ using an adapted Fried phenotypic frailty criteria.
- Assessment of weakness, gait speed, weight loss, exhaustion, and physical activity.
Main Results:
- 125 patients completed screening; 12% were frail, 57% prefrail, and 31% not frail.
- Self-reported exhaustion was the most common frailty symptom (34%).
- Frailty prevalence was similar between men (10%) and women (14%).
Conclusions:
- A significant number of patients undergoing thoracic surgery are frail or prefrail.
- Frailty may be underrecognized in this surgical population.
- Preoperative frailty reduction interventions are a potential strategy for improving surgical outcomes.
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