Frailty: A Familiar Challenge or an Unknown Question for Anesthesiologist – Results of an Indian Survey

Abstract Background: Frailty is a public health issue, and with increased life expectancy, more elderly patients are coming for surgical interventions. It is a multidimensional condition, characterized by loss of functional reserve which leads to adverse perioperative outcomes. This novel survey in the Indian scenario not only identifies the knowledge and orientation of the Indian anesthesiologists but also their day-to-day practice of frailty assessment. Methods: This 22-question survey was distributed to mostly Indian anesthesiologists practicing in various cities through electronic media. The first section included the electronic addresses and the informed consent. The second section contains the academic background and demography of the respondents. The third section includes their awareness about frailty and how they perceive it as a clinical entity. The last section focuses on the actual practice of frailty assessment by the participants. Results: We received 306 responses, among them 295 doctors practice anesthesia. Ninety-four percent of respondents agreed that the concept of frailty should be known to all anesthesiologists, 89% of the responses concurred that frailty affects postoperative outcomes. Only 54% respondents were properly trained in this topic during their training days and 45% of all were only confident to diagnose frailty in the preanesthetic check (PAC) clinic. Thirty seven percent of respondents lacked basic knowledge about different frailty tools. Forty-three percent of respondents revealed that they do not report the presence of frailty in patient files during PAC. Only 10% of the respondents have ever used any point-of-care ultrasound for frailty assessment. In 73% of cases, there was no geriatric team available in the hospitals, and 71% said that there is no well-implemented preoperative approach in their hospital for elderly frail patients for elective surgery. Conclusions: Despite the awareness of the importance of frailty in preoperative assessment, there is a huge void in the identification and assessment of frail patients in hospitals. There is an absolute need for a uniform and standardized national guideline.