Preoperative frailty and its association with postsurgical pain in an older patient cohort

Chronic postsurgical pain in patients over 65 negatively impacts recovery, quality of life and physical functioning. In the community setting, chronic pain has been shown to be related to frailty, a syndrome more commonly seen in older adults and characterized by limited physiologic reserve and ability to withstand stressors. While frailty is an important preoperative risk factor for poor surgical outcomes in older adults, the relationship between frailty and postsurgical pain in this population has not been investigated. We hypothesized that preoperative frailty would be associated with greater odds of postsurgical chronic pain.