The impact of perceived frailty on surgeons' estimates of surgical risk.

Background: Physicians are only moderately accurate in estimating surgical risk based on clinical vignettes. We assessed the impact of perceived frailty by measuring the influence of a short video of a standardized patient on surgical risk estimates.

Methods: Thoracic surgeons and cardiothoracic trainees estimated the risk of major complications for lobectomy based on clinical vignettes of varied risk categories (low, average, high).

Thoracic surgeons' perception of frail behavior in videos of standardized patients.

Background: Frailty is a predictor of poor outcomes following many types of operations. We measured thoracic surgeons' accuracy in assessing patient frailty using videos of standardized patients demonstrating signs of physical frailty. We compared their performance to that of geriatrics specialists.