Association between preoperative frailty and myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery in geriatric patients: Study protocol for a prospective, multicentre, real-world observational, cohort trial

Introduction: Frailty has become a worldwide health burden that has a large influence on public health and clinical practice. The incidence of frailty is anticipated to increase as the aging population increases. Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) is associated with short-term and long-term mortality. The incidence of MINS in geriatric frail patients is unknown. Methods and analysis: This prospective, multicentre, real-world observational cohort study will be conducted at 18 designated centres in China from January 2023 to December 2024, with an anticipated sample size of 856 patients aged 65 and older who are scheduled to undergo noncardiac surgery. The primary outcome measure will be the incidence of MINS. MINS is defined as a fourth-generation plasma cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentration ≥ 0.03 ng/mL at least once within 30 days after surgery, with or without symptoms of myocardial ischaemia. All data will be collected using research electronic data acquisition. Discussion This study will explore the incidence of MINS in frail patients. The characteristics, predictive factors and 30-day outcomes of MINS in frail patients will be further investigated to lay the foundation for finding clinical interventions. Clinical trial registration: https://beta.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05635877 , NCT05635877