FAST Walk Study

The 90-day secondary outcome of new significant disability requires a WHODAS 2.0 score ≥25% that also represents a ≥5% absolute increase from baseline. A difference of approximately 3 days in DAOH30 is considered the minimum clinically important difference for that endpoint. FAST Walk recruitment commenced in June 2024, with follow-up completion expected in 2026 and primary results anticipated in 2027. The study is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Physician Services Incorporated Foundation, and the Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund. Endovascular surgery and lower-limb orthopaedic surgery are excluded from FAST Walk due to limited tissue trauma and walk-confounding musculoskeletal limitations respectively. Two individuals with lived experience as surgical patients or caregivers serve as full steering committee members and contributed to background research, protocol review, and grant application. The FAST Walk study is an international multicentre prospective cohort study enrolling 1,672 adults undergoing major elective non-cardiac surgery at 19 hospitals across five countries.