Prehabilitation in Frail Surgical Patients: A Systematic Review

Frailty is a customized marker of biological age that helps to gauge an individual's functional physiologic reserve and ability to react to stress and is associated with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. In order to mitigate frailty preoperatively, the concept of prehabilitation has entered the forefront which encompasses multidisciplinary interventions to improve health and lessen the incidence of postoperative decline. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of prehabilitation on postoperative outcomes in frail, surgical patients.

A comprehensive literature search was performed by two independent researchers according to PRISMA guidelines. Inclusion criteria were (1) a randomized controlled trial, case-control or observational study; (2) prehabilitation intervention; (3) frailty assessment; and (4) surgical intervention.

There were five articles included in the review. Evaluation of these articles demonstrated prehabilitation may improve operative outcomes in frail surgical patients. There were no assessments as to whether prehabilitation was cost-effective although it was feasible. Prehabilitation programs should include elements of exercise, nutrition, and psychosocial counseling. Frailty should be assessed with a validated index in surgical patients who may undergo prehabilitation.

Prehabilitation in frail surgical patients may be the appropriate process through which providers can lessen operative risk. Currently, however, there is little evidence supporting the use of prehabilitation in this population with only five studies identified in this systematic review. More randomized controlled trials are clearly needed.