Overview

Background: Frailty is a geriatric syndrome of reduced physiologic reserve that increases surgical risk and is common among older adults undergoing hip or knee replacement. While prehabilitation has shown promise in enhancing outcomes, evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in frail orthopedic patients is limited.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary data on the effectiveness of a multimodal prehabilitation program for frail patients undergoing elective hip or knee arthroplasty.

Methods: A pilot RCT will be conducted at Landspítali-University Hospital. Patients ≥70 years scheduled for surgery with ≥2 months waiting time will be screened for frailty using PRISMA-7, the Clock Drawing Test, and Timed Up \& Go. Patients screening positive for any of the three screening tools will be randomized to multimodal prehabilitation or standard of care. The intervention includes comprehensive geriatric assessment, medication review, tailored physiotherapy using the Otago Exercise Programme, and nutritional counseling if at risk of malnutrition. We will conduct an external pilot for feasibility measures (overall enrollment, recruitment, retention, adherence). Secondary outcomes include physical performance, postoperative complications, patient-reported health status (WOMAC scale) and quality of life (EQ-5D-5L ), length of primary hospital stay, discharge location, falls postoperatively, 180-day readmission and 180-day mortality.

Significance: This trial may aid in the design of larger RCT study and provide a signal of the role of multimodal prehabilitation on outcomes, including quality of life and health status among frail arthroplasty patients.

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients aged 70 years or older assigned to undergo hip/knee replacement at Landspítali University Hospital.
• Inclusion will be offered to patients who have previously presented at the outpatient orthopedic department and been scheduled for an elective (with a waiting period ≥2 months before surgery) hip/knee replacement.
• Patients who are willing to participate and sign informed consent and are willing to be randomized to the control or intervention arm.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who screen negative for all frailty tools will be excluded from the study.
• Patients who are already in active physiotherapy, meeting with a physiotherapist \>1 every month, will also be excluded.
• In addition, those who do not undergo planned surgery, are undergoing redo hip/knee prosthesis replacement will be excluded