Functional outcome and frailty in colorectal surgery patients.

Background: Frailty is a recognized risk and predictor of poor health outcomes in older patients undergoing surgery. A significant proportion of elderly patients undergoing colorectal cancer-related surgery are nevertheless not routinely assessed for frailty in current clinical practice in Australia. We examined the preoperative use of the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) to predict post-operative functional outcomes in geriatric patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.