Electronic Rapid Fitness Assessment Identifies Factors Associated with Adverse Early Postoperative Outcomes Following Radical Cystectomy.

Frailty is associated with adverse outcomes following radical cystectomy. Prospective tools to identify factors affecting outcomes are needed. We describe a novel electronic rapid fitness assessment to evaluate geriatric patients undergoing radical cystectomy.
Prior to undergoing radical cystectomy between February 2015 and February 2018, 80 patients over the age of 75 completed the electronic rapid fitness assessment and were perioperatively comanaged by the Geriatrics Service. Physical and cognitive function over 12 domains were evaluated and an accumulated geriatric deficit score compiled. Hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, unplanned intensive care unit admissions, urgent care visits, readmissions, complications, and deaths were assessed.
Sixty-five patients who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder cancer without concomitant procedures completed the assessment. Median age was 80 (77, 84), and 52 (80%) were male. A higher proportion of patients with intensive care unit admission, urgent care visit, and major complications had impairments identified within electronic rapid fitness assessment domains, including Timed Up and Go. Readmission rates were similar between patients with or without deficits identified. Higher accumulated geriatric deficit score was significantly associated with intensive care unit admission (p=0.035), death within 90 days (p=0.037), and discharge to other than home (p=0.0002).
We demonstrated the feasibility of assessing fitness in patients over 75 undergoing radical cystectomy using a novel electronic fitness tool. Physical limitations and overall impairment corresponded to higher intensive care unit admission rates and adverse postoperative outcomes. Larger studies in less resourced environments are required to validate these findings.