WCLC 2025 - Posters & ePosters-EP.07.33 The Pictorial Fit Frail Scale as a Preoperative Risk Stratification Tool in Lung Resection Patients

Pdf Summary

This study evaluates the Pictorial Fit Frail Scale (PFFS) as a preoperative risk stratification tool in patients undergoing lung resection surgery. Frailty assessment in surgical candidates is limited, and PFFS offers a validated, easy-to-use, self-administered metric that could identify subclinical frailty. The research, conducted at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, compared outcomes between patients categorized as “fit” or “frail” by PFFS.<br /><br />Key findings indicate that frail patients were generally older (median age 74 vs. 71) and had lower preoperative lung function as measured by FEV1% (83% vs. 93%) than fit patients. Frail patients underwent wedge resections more frequently (53% vs. 44%), although this difference was not statistically significant. Postoperative adverse events were somewhat more common in the frail group (23% vs. 17%), yet major complications and mortality rates—including intra-hospital, 30-day, and 90-day mortality—were comparable between groups. One-year overall survival was similarly high in both cohorts (~96-97%).<br /><br />Hospital length of stay median was two days for both groups, but frail patients exhibited greater variability and trended toward longer stays with increasing frailty scores. Notably, frail patients were discharged to rehabilitation facilities more often than fit patients (4.2% vs. 1%), reflecting potentially greater postoperative care needs.<br /><br />Although PFFS was not used for surgical decision-making in this study, it showed promise in identifying patients with higher surgical risk profiles. The authors suggest that frailty assessment via PFFS may improve risk stratification in thoracic surgery, potentially guiding clinical decisions and postoperative care. Future research with larger samples aims to clarify significant associations between PFFS scores and surgical outcomes.

Asset Subtitle

Fatemehsadat (Yasaman) Pezeshikian

Meta Tag

Speaker Fatemehsadat (Yasaman) Pezeshikian

Topic Early-Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Keywords

Pictorial Fit Frail Scale

PFFS

frailty assessment

lung resection surgery

preoperative risk stratification

postoperative outcomes

thoracic surgery

frail patients

surgical risk

rehabilitation discharge