Preoperative Point-of-Care Ultrasound to Identify Frailty and Predict Postoperative Outcomes: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

BACKGROUND: Frailty is increasingly being recognized as a public health issue, straining healthcare resources and increasing costs to care for these patients. Frailty is the decline in physical and cognitive reserves leading to increased vulnerability to stressors such as surgery or disease states. The goal of this pilot diagnostic accuracy study was to identify whether point-of-care ultrasound measurements of the quadriceps and rectus femoris muscles can be used to discriminate between frail and not-frail patients and predict postoperative outcomes. This study hypothesized that ultrasound could discriminate between frail and not-frail patients before surgery. METHODS: Preoperative ultrasound measurements of the quadriceps and rectus femoris were obtained in patients with previous computed tomography scans. Using the computed tomography scans, psoas muscle area was measured in all patients for comparative purposes. Frailty was identified using the Fried phenotype assessment. Postoperative outcomes included unplanned intensive care unit admission, delirium, intensive care unit length of stay, hospital length of stay, unplanned skilled nursing facility admission, rehospitalization, falls within 30 days, and all-cause 30-day and 1-yr mortality. RESULTS: A total of 32 patients and 20 healthy volunteers were included. Frailty was identified in 18 of the 32 patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that quadriceps depth and psoas muscle area are able to identify frailty (area under the curve-receiver operating characteristic, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.64 to 0.97] and 0.88 [95% CI, 0.76 to 1.00], respectively), whereas the cross-sectional area of the rectus femoris is less promising (area under the curve-receiver operating characteristic, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.49 to 0.91]). Quadriceps depth was also associated with unplanned postoperative skilled nursing facility discharge disposition (area under the curve 0.81 [95% CI, 0.61 to 1.00]) and delirium (area under the curve 0.89 [95% CI, 0.77 to 1.00]). CONCLUSIONS: Similar to computed tomography measurements of psoas muscle area, preoperative ultrasound measurements of quadriceps depth shows promise in discriminating between frail and not-frail patients before surgery. It was also associated with skilled nursing facility admission and postoperative delirium.

Gerofit Prehabilitation Pilot Program: Preparing Frail Older Veterans for Surgery.

Older Veterans are increasingly undergoing surgery and are at particularly high risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Prehabilitation has emerged as a method to improve postoperative outcomes by enhancing the patient's preoperative condition. We present data from our prehabilitation pilot project and plans for expansion and dissemination of a nationwide quality improvement effort. The infrastructure of the existing Veterans Affairs (VA) Gerofit health and exercise program was used to create our pilot. Pilot patients were screened for risk of postoperative functional decline, assessed for baseline physical function, enrolled in a personalized exercise program, and prepared to transition into the hospital for surgery. Patients (n = 9) completed an average of 17.7 prehabilitation sessions. After completing the program, 55.6% improved in ≥2 of the 5 fitness assessments completed. Postoperative outcomes including complications, 30-day mortality, and 30-day readmissions were better than predicted by the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Surgical Risk Calculator. We have obtained institutional support for implementing similar prehabilitation programs at VA hospitals nationally through our designation as a VA Patient Safety Center for Inquiry. This is the first multi-institutional prehabilitation program for frail, older Veterans and represents an essential step toward optimizing surgical care for this vulnerable population.