Using time-limited trials to improve surgical care for frail older adults

Abstract

An 85-year-old male nursing home resident who is frail but enjoys his current quality of life is admitted with an acute high-grade small bowel obstruction potentially due to adhesions from prior abdominal surgery. The patient has significant tenderness on abdominal exam with involuntary guarding and signs of pneumatosis on the CT scan that are concerning for bowel ischemia. After discussing potential options for management, including surgical intervention and palliative care, the patient and his family express a desire to proceed with surgery because there is a small chance that he could return to his preoperative quality of life. The surgeon believes that his problem is potentially reversible but worries that the patient is at high risk for complications, which could lead to a prolonged ICU stay and subsequent death. How should the possibility of surgical complications be introduced? What plans, if any, should be made at this point for how to deal with complications if one or more occur?