Preoperative frailty is an independent risk factor for postinduction hypotension in older patients undergoing noncardiac surgery: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative hypotension is a risk factor for perioperative adverse outcomes and highly prevalent in older patients. Frailty has been associated with hemodynamic instability but its impact on postinduction hypotension is unclear. Therefore, we assessed the association between frailty and postinduction hypotension in older patients.

METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated electronic medical records of patients aged ≥ 65 years who were assessed for preoperative frailty and underwent noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia. Reported Edmonton Frail Scale (REFS) scores were used to stratify patients into a non-frail (REFS scores 0-5), prefrail (6-7), and frail (8-18) group. Postinduction hypotension was defined as a mean blood pressure below 65 mmHg or 20% from baseline occurring within the first 20 min after anesthesia induction and evaluated using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS: Independent factors related to postinduction hypotension in our sample (421 patients) were status of frail (REFS score ≥ 8) compared to non-frail (odds ratio [OR], 2.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.44 to 5.18; p = .002), lower baseline mean blood pressure in the operating room (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96 to 0.999; p = .034) and at the presurgical center (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94 to 0.99; p = .003), and orthopedic (compared to urologic) surgery (OR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.14 to 4.30; p = .019).

CONCLUSION: Preoperative frail status based on REFS scores is associated with postinduction hypotension. Frailty screening tool for older patients may enhance traditional risk calculators and improve patient selection for non-cardiac surgery under general anesthesia.