Anaesthesia
June 11, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Disability after non-cardiac surgery - patient-centred outcomes and resource utilisation after non-cardiac surgery (PACORUS): a prospective multicentre cohort study.
Stroda A, Larmann J, Icks A, +13 more, PACORUS‐D Investigators.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
About one in eight surviving patients developed new significant disability one year after non-cardiac surgery, with complications and frailty as key associations.
What was studied
Prospective multicentre cohort of 1,081 patients tracking WHODAS 2.0 disability to 1 year after non-cardiac, non-neurosurgical procedures, with analysis of risk, complications, social support, delirium and frailty.
Key findings
- New clinically significant disability or death was the endpoint; disability occurred in 12.9% at 1 year and 22.3% at 30 days.
- Higher NSQIP risk (aOR 1.05 per percent) and any postoperative complication were associated with disability.
- Frailty strongly predicted it (aOR 3.97), whereas social support was not associated.
Clinical relevance
Even minor complications and frailty identify patients who need targeted recovery support.
Who should care
Limitations
Observational association study with loss to follow-up and the abstract does not give the delirium result.
Screen for frailty before surgery and plan follow-up and rehabilitation for patients with complications.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Introduction
The Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine Initiative recommends the 12-item WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 to measure postoperative functional impairment. However, evidence describing long-term postoperative disability, particularly at 1 year, remains limited. This study aimed to: describe disability up to 1 year after non-cardiac, non-neurosurgical procedures; examine associations between periprocedural risk, postoperative complications and new-onset disability; and evaluate associations between social support, delirium, and frailty and postoperative disability.
Methods
We conducted a prospective, multicentre cohort study. The primary endpoint was new onset clinically significant disability (an increase in WHODAS 2.0 score ≥ 5% points from baseline to a final score ≥ 35%) or death at 1 year. Independent variables included: periprocedural risk; postoperative complications; frailty; and patient-reported social support.
Results
In total, 1081 patients were included: 726 (67%) male, median (IQR) [range] age 67 (60-75 [50-101]) y. New onset clinically significant disability was present in 139/1081 (12.9%) patients at 1 year and in 238/1066 (22.3%) patients at 30 days. Periprocedural risk (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.07, per percent in American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program score) and postoperative complications of all grades were associated with 1-year new onset clinically significant disability. New onset (1 year) clinically significant disability was not associated with social support: OR 0.87, 95%CI 0.54-1.39 for moderate; and OR 0.76, 95%CI 0.47-1.24 for strong social support. Frailty was strongly associated with new onset clinically significant disability after 1 year (aOR 3.97, 95%CI 2.54-6.21).
Discussion
One year after non-cardiac surgery, 13% of surviving patients experienced a new onset clinically significant disability. Postoperative complications, even those of low severity, were associated with new onset postoperative disability.
DOI
10.1111/anae.70248
PMID
42274020
PMCID
PMC13659787
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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