The impact of comorbidities and functional status on outcomes in the older adult emergency general surgery patient

Abstract

Background

The aim of this study is to quantify the relative contribution of comorbidities and pre-operative functional status on outcomes in geriatric emergency general surgery (EGS) patients.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of older-adult EGS patients at an academic medical center between 2017 and 2018. Patients ≥65 years were included. The primary outcomes examined were 30-day mortality, 30-day morbidity, and length of stay (LOS).

Results

734 patients were included. The mean age was 76, and 48.9 ​% received non-operative management. The median LOS was 6.8 days; 11.8 ​% of patients died within 30 days, and 40.6 ​% developed morbidities. Lacking capacity to consent on admission was independently associated with 30-day mortality (OR: 2.63, [1.32–5.25], p ​= ​0.006). Comorbidities associated with developing morbidity were CVA with neurologic deficit (OR: 2.29, [1.20–4.36], p ​= ​0.012), CHF (OR: 2.60, [1.64–4.11], p ​< ​0.001), in addition to pre-operative delirium (OR: 3.42, [1.43–8.14], p ​= ​0.006).

Conclusions

A significant contribution to outcomes is determined by pre-admission comorbidities and cognitive and functional status. Opportunities exist for collaboration between Acute Care Surgery and geriatric medicine teams for the optimization of comorbidities.