Page "Surgery" Paragraph 47

Older adults have widely varying physical health.

Frail elderly people are at significant risk of post-surgical complications and the need for extended care.

Assessment of older patients before elective surgeries can accurately predict the patients ' recovery trajectories.

One frailty scale uses five items: unintentional weight loss, muscle weakness, exhaustion, low physical activity, and slowed walking speed.

A healthy person scores 0 ; a very frail person scores 5.

Compared to non-frail elderly people, people with intermediate frailty scores ( 2 or 3 ) are twice as likely to have post-surgical complications, spend 50 % more time in the hospital, and are three times as likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing facility instead of to their own homes.

Frail elderly patients ( score of 4 or 5 ) have even worse outcomes, with the risk of being discharged to a nursing home rising to twenty times the rate for non-frail elderly people.