The elderly are more vulnerable to problems after a major surgical procedure than younger patients, but a team of investigators using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) suggest that one way to improve surgical results in this age group is to have hospitals expand their quality control guidelines to include more types of surgery-related complications.
The investigators reviewed almost 55,000 gastrointestinal operations (GI) at 121 hospitals participating in ACS NSQIP. Specifically, these operations involved the upper GI tract, the gall bladder, pancreas, and colon and rectum. Elderly patients were up to twice as likely to have complications related to the operation than younger patients. The mortality rate in the elderly group was three to almost seven times higher than the younger group, depending on the procedure. The results of this study have been published in the November issue of Archives of Surgery.
This analysis departed from previous studies by focusing on the types of complications in the elderly and comparing those rates with those for younger patients. "Here we were able to really identify the specific complications that occur more frequently using standardized data from a number of hospitals," according to Karl Y. Bilimoria, MD, MS former research fellow at the American College of Surgeons and general surgery resident at Northwestern University, Department of Surgery, Chicago and a coauthor (one word) of the study.
The investigators reported that hospital quality measures for older patients having an operation typically concentrate on three types of risk: heart attack, surgical wound infections and blood clots in the legs. The analysis determined that rates of complications from wound infections and blood clots were comparable in both elderly and younger patients, but that the elderly were significantly more susceptible to a heart attack, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, respiratory failure, urinary tract infection and renal failure.
The report authors concluded that quality improvement initiatives need to include pulmonary and urologic complications in older patients. Eventually, according to Dr. Bilimoria, the intent is to develop a "risk estimator" through ACS NSQIP that will enable surgeons to evaluate risks before surgical procedures and make more informed decisions about whether a patient is truly a candidate for an operation.