Predictive value of frailty assessment tools in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer

Purpose We used three commonly used frailty assessment tools to investigate the current status of preoperative frailty and to analyse their predictive value for prognosis in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer. Methods This single-centre, observational, prospective cohort study was conducted at the Affiliated Lianyungang Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from August 2021 to July 2022. A total of 229 patients aged ≥ 18 years who underwent surgery for gastrointestinal cancer were included in this study. We collected the patients’ baseline data and used the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), Fried Phenotype (FP), and the FRAIL scale to assess frailty. The outcome measures were the complications experienced by patients and increased hospital costs. Results The prevalence of frailty was assessed using the CGA, FP, and FRAIL scale which returned the results 65.9%, 47.6%, and 34.9%, respectively. Multivariate logistic analysis confirmed that CGA was independently associated with increased hospital costs (OR = 2.514, 95% CI [1.202–5.258]; p = 0.014), and none of the frailty assessment tools were associated with total complications. Conclusions CGA was an independent predictor of increased hospital costs in patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer.