Frailty as Predictor of Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70749/ijbr.v3i6.3009Keywords:
Frailty, Cardiac Surgery, CABG, Outcomes, Modified Frailty Index.Abstract
Objective: To determine the effectiveness of frailty index as a predictor of outcomes after cardiac surgery. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Cardiac Surgery, Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, Rawalpindi, over six months (July to December 2024). Methodology: A total of 376 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery were included using simple random sampling. Frailty was assessed using a modified frailty index (deficit-based model with 9 variables) and categorized into non-frail, pre-frail, frail, and severely frail groups. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Quantitative variables were expressed as mean ± SD and qualitative variables as frequency and percentages. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: The mean age was 51.26 ± 11.84 years, with 78.2% males. Frailty prevalence (pre-frail + frail) was 49.5%. Increasing frailty was significantly associated with higher postoperative complications, increased chest drainage, and mortality (p < 0.05). Frailty score independently predicted adverse outcomes (OR = 2.85, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Frailty is an independent predictor of adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery and should be incorporated into routine preoperative risk stratification.
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