Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) score has the major impact on outcome prediction in elderly surgical patients...

This study aims (I) to evaluate whether the Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) score is associated with postoperative outcomes and (II) to develop a prognostic model for individual complication-risk prediction following colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery.

This is a prospective multicentric cohort study. Consecutive ≥75-year-old candidates for elective CRC surgery were enrolled from October 2017 to August 2019. Patients underwent standardized preoperative geriatric assessment including the MPI. Patients with MPI score > 0.33 were classified as frail. Logistic regression models were employed to evaluate variables associated with major postoperative complications and mortality, using 10-fold cross-validated LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) for model selection.

In all, 104 patients were included, 34 (33%) had MPI score > 0.33. Major postoperative complications occurred in 52% of frail versus 16% of fit (MPI score ≤ 0.33) patients (p < .01). Both 30-day (9% vs. 0%; p = .033) and 90-day mortality (18% vs. 1%; p < .01) were higher among frail patients. In multivariate analysis, MPI score was associated with adverse outcomes. A final postoperative complication predictive model was created, including MPI score, gait-speed test, ASA (American Society of Anesthesiology) score, surgical approach, and stoma creation.

MPI score is strongly associated with postoperative major complications in CRC elderly patients and it is a primary component of an individual prediction model.