The developing world of pre-operative optimisation: a systematic review of Cochrane reviews.

Pre-operative optimisation is a heterogenous group of interventions aimed at improving peri-operative outcomes. To understand the evidence for pre-operative optimisation in the developing world, we systematically reviewed Cochrane reviews on the topic according to the Human Developmental Index (HDI) of the country where patient recruitment occurred. We used summary statistics and cartograms to describe the HDI, year of publication, timing of pre-operative intervention and risk of bias associated with each included trial. We assessed the impact of multinational trials on the risk of bias introduced by countries of differing HDI. Four-hundred and nine trials representing 51 countries and 89,389 randomly allocated participants were summarised in this review. Four-hundred and nineteen out of 451 (93%) trial populations (i.e. a group of study participants from one country) were from high and very high HDI countries. The median (IQR [range]) HDI of countries were 0.862 (0.806-0.892 [0.445-0.949]). Three of the 409 included trials were multinational, representing 32 countries and 37,736 out of 89,389 (42.2%) included participants. Africa was the least represented continent, with only 4 included trials and 566 participants, of which 62.3% were from one multinational trial. The overall risk of bias was high or unclear in 381 out of 409 (93%) trials. Inclusion of multinational trials decreased the proportion of trial populations introducing high or unclear risk of bias by 9.4% (95%CI 5.1-13.7; p < 0.0001). Half of the world's population live in low- and middle-HDI countries. This population is poorly represented in systematically reviewed evidence on pre-operative optimisation. Multinational trials increase the knowledge contribution from low- and middle-HDI countries and decrease risk of bias in systematic reviews.

Malnutrition in total joint arthroplasty: what should the orthopaedic surgeon consider?

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is rising globally, with an associated increase in associated complications, necessitating increased efforts in prevention of these complications with pre-operative optimisation. Malnutrition has been highlighted as one of the most important pre-operative modifiable risk factors to be addressed in TJA, with the term malnutrition in orthopaedic surgery having a broad definition that encompasses a wide range of nutritional abnormalities from undernutrition to overnutrition contributing to the outcomes of TJA. Complications associated with malnutrition include periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), periprosthetic fracture, dislocations, aseptic loosening, anaemia, prolonged length of stay (LOS), increased mortality, and raised health care costs. Standardised nutritional scoring tools, anthropometric measurements, and serological markers are all options available in pre-operative nutritional assessment in TJA, but there is no consensus yet regarding the standardisation of what parameters to assess and how to assess them. Abnormal parameters identified using any of the assessment methods results in the diagnosis of malnutrition, and correction of these parameters of overnutrition or undernutrition have shown to improve outcomes in TJA. With the multiple nutritional parameters contributing to the success of total joint arthroplasty, it is imperative that orthopaedic surgeon has a thorough knowledge regarding nutritional peri-operative optimisation in TJA.

Scoping review protocol of prehabilitation interventions for primary arthroplasty.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) ranks fifth among all forms of disability worldwide and primary replacement arthroplasty is the treatment of choice in late-stage OA. The current situation in South Africa is that the waiting lists for arthroplasty are extensive with steep costs. According to many studies, physiotherapists can have an impact on this situation by implementing prehabilitation. Objectives: The aim of our study is to identify the trends in the literature regarding the content of prehabilitation programmes as well as the gaps. Method: The methodology will involve a literature search and the methodology as proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The literature searches will be conducted in electronic databases and peer-reviewed journal studies will be included based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Two reviewers will screen all citations and full-text articles and the first author will abstract the data. Results: The results will be organised into themes and sub-themes, summarised, and reported as a narrative synthesis. Conclusion: The proposed scoping review will map the breadth of knowledge available on the topic of prehabilitation in terms of exercise prescription principles, pre-operative optimisation and gaps. Clinical implications: This scoping review is the first part of a study that aims to design a prehabilitation programme suitable for the South African public health user as the demographic and physical characteristics of its health users are unique and dependent on the context.

Frailty in the over 65's undergoing elective surgery (FIT-65) - a three-day study examining the prevalence of frailty in patients presenting for elective surgery.

BACKGROUND: Frailty increases the risk of perioperative complications, length of stay, and the need for assisted-living after discharge. As the UK population ages the number of frail patients presenting for elective surgery in the UK is likely to grow. Despite the potential benefits of early diagnosis, frailty is not uniformly screened for in UK elective surgical patients and its prevalence remains unclear. The primary aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of frailty in patients aged over 65 years undergoing elective surgery. METHODS: We performed a prospective cross-sectional observational study in eight UK hospitals. Data were collected over three consecutive days with follow-up at 30 days. HRA approval was obtained (REC 20/SC/0121) and signed informed consent obtained. Participants were eligible for inclusion if they were 65 years or older and undergoing elective surgery. Pre-operative data were collected from hospital notes by anaesthetic trainees. A member of the research team blinded to the pre-operative dataset screened each participant for frailty pre-operatively using the Reported Edmonton Frail Scale (REFS). Post-operative data were collected from the notes on day of surgery and at 30 days. Participants were defined as "frail" if they scored 8 or more on the REFS. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty eight participants were recruited during the study period of whom 218 proceeded to surgery. There were 103 females and 115 males. Median age was 75 years (interquartile range 70-80). Thirty-seven participants (17.0%) were identified as frail. Frail patients were older, had a higher ASA score, were more likely to have carers and were more likely to be anaemic or present with ECG abnormalities. There were no differences in gender, BMI, place of residence or smoking status for patients identified as frail versus non-frail. There was no difference in length-of-stay between frail and non-frail patients, although those identified as frail were less likely to be discharged to their own home. CONCLUSION: We found the prevalence of frailty in a mixed population of elective surgical patients aged 65 or over to be 17.0%. Furthermore, we found the REFS to be a practical tool for pre-operative frailty screening. Frail patients presented for elective surgery with modifiable co-morbidities which could have been optimised pre-operatively. Early screening could highlight frail patients, allowing time for pre-operative planning and evidence-based optimisations of comorbidities. We therefore encourage the adoption of frailty assessment as a routine part of pre-operative assessment.