The Impact of Prehabilitation Bundle on Perioperative Outcome for Frail Elderly Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Surgery

Overview

This study aims to study the efficacy of a preoperative "bundle" of interventions, which consists of preoperative physiotherapy, nutritional support and cognitive exercises on elderly frail patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, and evaluating their outcomes. There will be two arms, intervention and control.

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome, defined as an increased vulnerability to stressors leading to a state of decreased physiological resistance. It is characterised by a "constellation of symptoms and signs that describe the heterogeneous response of older adults to physiological and metabolic challenges." While frailty is not necessarily synonymous with chronological age, it is more prevalent among the older adult population and is associated with up to a threefold increased risk of mortality or major morbidity postsurgery. Thus, it has become critically important for healthcare systems to develop strategies designed to improve clinical outcomes in this high-risk population when undergoing surgeries. Currently there is no clear intervention that has been proven to modify the syndrome of frailty or its impact on postoperative outcomes. This study investigates a novel multidisciplinary approach that can be implemented within a short time frame prior to surgery. We plan to study the efficacy of a preoperative "bundle" of interventions, which consists of preoperative physiotherapy, nutritional support and cognitive exercises on elderly frail patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, and evaluating their outcomes based 1) length of hospital stay 2) Functional recovery from surgery 3) post-operative complications.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Central Contacts