Preoperative frailty screening, assessment and management

To highlight the importance of frailty assessment in thoracic surgery patients.

Frailty results from an accelerated loss of functional reserve associated with ageing and leads to increased vulnerability following surgery. It is a complex and multidimensional syndrome involving physiological and psychosocial systems. Frailty is a separate entity from comorbidities and disabilities. Frailty is associated with an increased risk of complications and a higher mortality rate after thoracic surgery. Patients can easily be screened for frailty and frail patients can benefit from further assessment of all areas of frailty secondarily. Prehabilitation and rehabilitation can help limit frailty-related complications after thoracic surgery.

Frailty should be part of the routine preoperative evaluation for thoracic surgery. Frailty must be considered in assessing eligibility for surgery and in planning prehabilitation and rehabilitation if necessary.