Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence

Background: As the number of elderly undergoing surgical procedures increases with our aging population, the risk of adverse surgical outcomes also increases with reduced physiological reserve, multiple comorbidities, frailty and functional disability. Objectives: As Comprehensive Geriatric Assessme...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: King Fan Yip, Sachin Mathur, Chuen Chai Dennis Seow
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-02-01
Series:Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20101058251319802
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849717713840111616
author King Fan Yip
Sachin Mathur
Chuen Chai Dennis Seow
author_facet King Fan Yip
Sachin Mathur
Chuen Chai Dennis Seow
author_sort King Fan Yip
collection DOAJ
description Background: As the number of elderly undergoing surgical procedures increases with our aging population, the risk of adverse surgical outcomes also increases with reduced physiological reserve, multiple comorbidities, frailty and functional disability. Objectives: As Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is increasingly being integrated as part of good surgical care for older patients owing to better patient outcomes, this review aims to provide an overview of the current evidence regarding its benefit on geriatric surgical patients among different surgical specialties, with additional focus on patients with frailty and/ or sarcopenia. Methods: Using chosen keywords, searches were conducted using Pubmed, Google scholar and Cochrane Library. Inclusion criteria were surgery of various specialties with the exception of orthopaedic surgery, and studies published in English only. Exclusion criteria were orthopaedic surgery, and non-English articles. Prospective, retrospective, randomized controlled and cohort studies were considered given the limited number of studies published thus far. Relevant journal articles referenced in the chosen articles were also referenced in writing this narrative review. Only the most relevant articles from 2010 onwards were used as earlier ones were outdated. Results & Conclusion: There is evidence of good outcomes after performing CGA and screening for frailty and sarcopenia in elective surgical patients while evidence on the usage of CGA for emergency surgical patients perioperatively is limited. Future studies could focus on the challenges to integrating CGA (including screening for frailty and sarcopenia) as part of routine surgical care and healthcare outcomes.
format Article
id doaj-art-423064d43a7c47f2b5e2f0d6e22ea503
institution DOAJ
issn 2059-2329
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare
spelling doaj-art-423064d43a7c47f2b5e2f0d6e22ea5032025-08-20T03:12:35ZengSAGE PublishingProceedings of Singapore Healthcare2059-23292025-02-013410.1177/20101058251319802Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidenceKing Fan YipSachin MathurChuen Chai Dennis SeowBackground: As the number of elderly undergoing surgical procedures increases with our aging population, the risk of adverse surgical outcomes also increases with reduced physiological reserve, multiple comorbidities, frailty and functional disability. Objectives: As Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is increasingly being integrated as part of good surgical care for older patients owing to better patient outcomes, this review aims to provide an overview of the current evidence regarding its benefit on geriatric surgical patients among different surgical specialties, with additional focus on patients with frailty and/ or sarcopenia. Methods: Using chosen keywords, searches were conducted using Pubmed, Google scholar and Cochrane Library. Inclusion criteria were surgery of various specialties with the exception of orthopaedic surgery, and studies published in English only. Exclusion criteria were orthopaedic surgery, and non-English articles. Prospective, retrospective, randomized controlled and cohort studies were considered given the limited number of studies published thus far. Relevant journal articles referenced in the chosen articles were also referenced in writing this narrative review. Only the most relevant articles from 2010 onwards were used as earlier ones were outdated. Results & Conclusion: There is evidence of good outcomes after performing CGA and screening for frailty and sarcopenia in elective surgical patients while evidence on the usage of CGA for emergency surgical patients perioperatively is limited. Future studies could focus on the challenges to integrating CGA (including screening for frailty and sarcopenia) as part of routine surgical care and healthcare outcomes.https://doi.org/10.1177/20101058251319802
spellingShingle King Fan Yip
Sachin Mathur
Chuen Chai Dennis Seow
Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence
Proceedings of Singapore Healthcare
title Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence
title_full Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence
title_fullStr Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence
title_full_unstemmed Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence
title_short Comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients: a narrative review of evidence
title_sort comprehensive geriatric assessment frailty and sarcopenia in elderly surgical patients a narrative review of evidence
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20101058251319802
work_keys_str_mv AT kingfanyip comprehensivegeriatricassessmentfrailtyandsarcopeniainelderlysurgicalpatientsanarrativereviewofevidence
AT sachinmathur comprehensivegeriatricassessmentfrailtyandsarcopeniainelderlysurgicalpatientsanarrativereviewofevidence
AT chuenchaidennisseow comprehensivegeriatricassessmentfrailtyandsarcopeniainelderlysurgicalpatientsanarrativereviewofevidence