Assessment of frailty in the preoperative setting - is there an ideal tool? A practical perspective

Abstract

Frailty is associated with significant perioperative morbidity and mortality. A multitude of screening and assessment tools have been published to date and a selection is described. The lack of consensus on a standard assessment tool, and time-, labour- and resource-intensive demands of some of the tools make frailty assessment challenging. Various serum markers have been suggested as surrogate markers of frailty. Measurements from radiological imaging done for surgical diagnosis and planning have also been utilized to evaluate frailty. The advantages and disadvantages of those alternative frailty assessment tools in various clinical settings are discussed.