Application for ESRA Abstract Prizes: I apply as an Anesthesiologist (Aged 35 years old or less)

Background and Aims One of the important concepts that has an impact on health services is the frailty of the elderly. The preoperative assessment of the older patients can be improved by using of a frailty scale in order to identify the high-risk patients. The aims of this study were to identify the frail older patients proposed for major orthopedic surgery, to evaluate the prognosis and the discharge prospectives.

Methods In this prospective study, we enrolled adults 65+ years admitted for elective or traumatic major orthopedic surgery between December 1st and June 1st. For preoperative frailty evaluation, we used the Fried Frailty Index for Elders (FIFE) from 0-10 points and the patients were divided by the number of positive answers: non-frail: 0 points, frailty risk: 1–3 points and frail: ≥4 points.

Results 150 patients, with mean age (SD) 76,56 (7,31) years, female 55,15% were screened for frailty. The frailty prevalence divided by age stratification was 32% for ages 65-70 years, 35% for ages 71-80 years, and 43,33% for older than 81 years. The age category over 81 years influences the frailty score to the extent of 92.2%, there is no significant difference between the women and men, in terms of frailty score with p>0.05, the length of stay and the need for community services post-discharge were significantly longer (p<0,05).

Conclusions We conclude that FIFE score is an independent tool for frail patients’ assessment. Its implementation in the hospital setting could improve perioperative outcomes and enhance the postoperative recovery of older surgical patients.