Preoperative fall risk assessment score as a prognostic factor in gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy

Objective Falls are related to frailty, which is known as an unfavorable prognosticator of gastric cancer. In this study, we investigated the influence of the fall risk assessment score on short- and long-term prognoses in patients with gastric cancer after gastrectomy. Methods A total of 430 patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer were included in this retrospective study. The fall risk assessment score was scored by nursing staffs on admission. We investigated the relationships between the fall risk assessment score and clinicopathological findings, postoperative outcomes and prognoses. We assigned patients with a fall risk assessment score ≥7 to the high-risk group (92 cases, 21.4%) and those with a fall risk assessment score Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in pathological stage of gastric cancer and postoperative complications, but the high-risk group had significantly longer postoperative hospital stays than the low-risk group (P Conclusions While the fall risk assessment score is an objective and easy-to-use method to assess fall risk and frailty, it may present a prognostic factor in gastric cancer.