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Review
. 2022 Nov 1;35(9):363-370.
doi: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000001283. Epub 2021 Dec 15.

Preoperative Considerations for the Frail Patient

Laura McCarthy  1 , Emma Haran  1 , Daniel P Ahern  2   3 , Jake M McDonnell  4 , Joseph S Butler  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Preoperative Considerations for the Frail Patient

Laura McCarthy et al. Clin Spine Surg. .

Abstract

Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome, the relevance of which is becoming increasingly apparent in the clinical setting. It is often accompanied by varying degrees of sarcopenia and/or osteoporosis, leading to a decline in physical function, decreased levels of physical activity, and overall poorer health outcomes in older adults. Identifying this cohort of patients before stressor events such as spinal surgery can prove paramount to improving the postoperative outcomes of these patients. This review provides a pertinent descriptive analysis to aid identification of frailty in a clinical setting, in addition to outlining methods of preoperative intervention that may improve postoperative outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

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