Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun:18:57-63.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2015.04.037. Epub 2015 Apr 20.

Frailty and poor functional status are common in arterial vascular surgical patients and affect postoperative outcomes

Judith S L Partridge  1 , Matthew Fuller  2 , Danielle Harari  3 , Peter R Taylor  4 , Finbarr C Martin  5 , Jugdeep K Dhesi  3
Affiliations
Free article

Frailty and poor functional status are common in arterial vascular surgical patients and affect postoperative outcomes

Judith S L Partridge et al. Int J Surg. 2015 Jun.
Free article

Abstract

Objectives: Increasing numbers of older people are undergoing emergency and elective arterial vascular procedures. Many older patients are frail which is a recognised predictor of adverse postoperative outcomes in other surgical specialties. This study in older patients undergoing arterial vascular surgery examined; the prevalence of preoperative frailty; the clinical feasibility of preoperatively measuring frailty and functional status; the association between these characteristics and adverse postoperative outcome.

Methods: Prospective observational study in patients aged over 60 years undergoing elective and emergency arterial vascular surgery. Baseline measures of frailty (Edmonton Frail Scale), functional status (gait velocity, timed up and go, hand grip strength) and cognitive function (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) were obtained preoperatively. The primary outcome measure Length of Stay (LOS) and secondary outcome measures of postoperative morbidity (medical and surgical complications), functional status and postoperative in-hospital mortality were recorded.

Results: 125 patients were recruited. Frailty was common in this older surgical population (52% EFS score of ≥ 6.5) with high frailty scores observed (mean EFS 6.6, SD 3.05) and poor functional status (60% had TUG > 15 s, 45% had gait velocity of < 0.6 m/s). Higher preoperative EFS (> 6.5) was univariately associated with longer LOS (≥ 12 days), composite measures of postoperative infections, postoperative medical complications and adverse functional outcomes. EFS ≥ 6.5 was predictive of LOS ≥ 12 days, adjusted for age (AUC 0.660, CI 0.541-0.779, p = 0.010). This association between EFS ≥ 6.5 and LOS ≥ 12 days was strengthened with the addition of MoCA < 24 (AUC 0.695, CI 0.584-0.806, p = 0.002).

Conclusions: Patients aged over 60 years admitted for arterial vascular surgery were frail, had impaired functional status and were cognitively impaired. This combination of preoperative characteristics was predictive of longer hospital length of stay and associated with adverse postoperative outcome.

Keywords: Arterial vascular surgery; Frailty; Functional status; Older people; Outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms