Early quality of recovery according to QoR-15 score is associated with one-month postoperative complications after elective surgery

Study objective: The QoR-15 scale is a validated tool to assess the quality of postoperative recovery (QoR). Our objective was to assess the association between the early QoR-15 values and the occurrence of one-month postoperative complications. Design: We used the data from a prospective single-centre cohort study conducted in the Angers University Hospital from July 2019 to February 2020 that validated the French version of the QoR-15 (FQoR-15). Setting: Preoperative room, ward, and home. Patients: 363 French-speaking adult patients, undergoing elective surgery, were enrolled (217 (59,8%) men, median age 60 (range 44 to 71) years old), including 139 (38.3%) ambulatory surgeries. Intervention: Patients completed the QoR-15 scale the day before, at 24 and 48 h after surgery. Measurements: Postoperative complications were recorded according to the PostOperative Morbidity Survey (POMS) classification till 30 days after surgery. The QoR was classified as excellent (QoR-15 135), good (122 < QoR-15 < 135), moderate (90 < QoR-15 < 121) or poor (QoR-15 < 90). Days alive and out of hospital up to 30 days after surgery was also recorded. Main results: According to the POMS classification, 176 (48.5%) patients had at least one complication up to 30 days after surgery. Among the 69 (19.0%) patients with a poor recovery at H24, 58 (84.1%) had at least one complication up to 30 days after surgery compared to 10 (23.8%) among the 42 (11.6%) in the excellent recovery group (p < 0.0001). The QoR-15 score at H24 allowed suitable discrimination of the occurrence of at least one complication up to 30 days after surgery (AUC 0.732 (95% CI 0.680 to 0.784)). Conclusion: The early QoR-15 scale after surgery is moderately associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications up to 30 days after elective surgeries (i.e. it has predictive validity).