Clinical tools to assess functional capacity before elective non-cardiac surgery: a scoping review protocol

The objective of this scoping review is to map the evidence on clinical tools to assess functional capacity prior to elective non-cardiac surgery.

Functional capacity is a strong prognostic indicator before surgery, which can be used to identify patients at elevated risk of postoperative complications, yet, there is no consensus on which clinical tools should be used to assess functional capacity in patients prior to non-cardiac surgery.

This review will consider any randomized or non-randomized studies that evaluate the performance of a functional capacity assessment tool in adults (≥18 years) prior to non-cardiac surgery. For studies to be included, the tool must be used clinically for risk stratification. We will exclude studies on lung and liver transplant surgery, as well as ambulatory procedures performed under local anesthesia.

The review will be conducted in line with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A peer-reviewed search strategy will be used to query relevant databases (ie, MEDLINE, Embase, EBM Reviews). Additional sources of evidence will include databases of non-peer-reviewed literature and the reference lists of included studies. Two independent reviewers will identify eligible studies in 2 stages: stage 1, based on titles and abstracts; and stage 2, based on full texts. Information on study details, measurement properties, pragmatic qualities, and/or clinical utility metrics will be charted in duplicate onto standardized data collection forms. The results will be presented using descriptive summaries, frequency tables, and visual plots that highlight the extent of evidence and remaining gaps in the validation process of each tool.

Open Science Framework https://osf.io/6nfht.