Association between self-reported functional capacity and general postoperative complications: analysis of predefined outcomes of the MET-REPAIR international cohort study

Abstract

Editor—Close to 5% of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery suffer from major postoperative complications. 1 Preoperative evaluation, risk stratification, and modification of perioperative management are crucial components in the effort to improve patient outcomes. 2 In addition to known clinical risk factors, self-reported functional capacity has been suggested as a tool to estimate perioperative risk. 3 ,4 While previous studies did not assign any clinically relevant role to functional capacity measures for the prediction of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), 5 the evidence for major non-MACE complications including mortality is less consistent. As these complications can also have an impact on patient outcomes, the aim of this analysis was to investigate the predictive value of self-reported functional capacity on the occurrence of 30-day all-cause mortality and major non-MACE postoperative complications (Clavien–Dindo class ≥3).