Guidelines recommend detecting poor functional capacity (VO_2max < 14 ml.kg⁻¹.min⁻¹) to assess preoperative cardiac risk. This screening is performed via a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), the self-reported inability to climb two flights of stairs, or the use of the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) questionnaire, which has shown a significant correlation with VO_2max and postoperative outcomes. The objectives of the present study were: 1) to create a French version of the DASI questionnaire (FDASI); 2) to assess its diagnostic performance in predicting functional capacity.

Consecutive adult patients undergoing CPET for medical or preoperative evaluation were prospectively included between May 2020 and March 2021. All patients were asked to complete FDASI as a self-questionnaire and report their inability to climb two flights of stairs.

122 patients were included. Test-retest reliability was 0.88 and 23 (19%) patients experienced a VO_2max < 14 ml.kg^−1.min⁻¹. There was a significant positive relationship between FDASI and VO_2max: r² = 0.32; p <  0.001. ROC_AUC was 0.81 [95%CI: 0.73−0.89]. The best FDASI score threshold was 36 points, leading to sensitivity and specificity values of 87% [74–100] and 68% [56–79], respectively. Besides, sensitivity and specificity were 35% [17–56] and 92% [86–97] for the self-reported inability to climb two flights of stairs.

A FDASI score of 36 represents a reliable threshold the clinicians could routinely use to identify patients with a VO_2max < 14 ml.kg^−1.min⁻¹. FDASI could advantageously replace the self-reported inability to climb two flights of stairs.