The Role of Frailty on Surgical Outcomes Following Pelvic Organ Prolapse Surgery in Medicare Beneficiaries: A National Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of frailty with surgical outcomes following pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery in Medicare beneficiaries.

METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of female Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years of age undergoing POP surgery between 2014 and 2016. Primary outcomes were hospital length-of-stay (LOS) ≥3 days, 30-day post-operative complications (excluding urinary tract infections (UTI)), and 30-day UTI. Frailty was quantified using the validated Claims-Based Frailty Index (CFI) and categorized into not frail (CFI<0.15), pre-frail (0.15≤CFI<0.25), mildly frail (0.25≤CFI<0.35), and moderately to severely frail (0.35≤CFI≤1).

RESULTS: Among the 107,890 women included (mean age, 73.3±6 years), 91.3% were White as and 4.3% were classified as mildly or moderately to severely frail. Rates of hospital LOS≥3 days and 30-day UTI increased over 7-fold and rates of 30-day complications increased over 3-fold as CFI increased from not frail to moderately to severely frail (all P values <.001). Compared to women who were not frail, women who were moderately to severely frail demonstrated an increased relative risk of hospital LOS≥3 days (aRR 3.1 [95% CI 2.5-3.8,P <.001]), 30-day complications (aRR 2.8 [95% CI 2.2-3.6, P <.001]), and 30-day UTI (aRR 2.5 [95% CI 2.2-3.0, P <.001]).

CONCLUSION: Among Medicare beneficiaries undergoing POP surgery in the United States, frailty is strongly associated with increased risk of prolonged hospital stay and 30-day complications. Frailty should be considered in the preoperative assessment for POP surgeries to improve patient outcomes.