Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jan-Feb;70(1):3-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.bjan.2019.10.001. Epub 2020 Feb 19.

[The very elderly surgical population in a critically ill scenario: clinical characteristics and outcomes]

[Article in Portuguese]
Diana de Jesus Neves Silva  1 , Luís Guilherme Galego Casimiro  1 , Mónica Isabel Sequeira de Oliveira  1 , Luciana Brás da Cunha Ferreira  1 , Fernando José Pereira Alves Abelha  2
Affiliations

[The very elderly surgical population in a critically ill scenario: clinical characteristics and outcomes]

[Article in Portuguese]
Diana de Jesus Neves Silva et al. Braz J Anesthesiol. 2020 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Background: The elderly population is an especially heterogeneous group of patients with a rising number of surgical interventions being performed in the very elderly patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between different age strata and functional status with the surgical outcome of the elderly patient.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study conducted in a Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), between 2006 and 2013. A total of 2331 surgical patients’ ≥ 65 years old were included. Patients were grouped according to age: Older Elderly Group (OEG: 65‒85 years old); Very Elderly Group (VEG > 85 years old). Demographic and perioperative data were recorded. Revised Cardiac Risk Index, APACHE II and SAPS II scores were calculated and postoperative complications were documented. Variables were compared on univariate analysis.

Results: The incidence of the VEG was 5.4%. This group had a higher proportion of non-elective surgery (22.4% vs. 11.2%, p < 0.001), higher APACHE II (12.0 vs. 10.0, p < 0.001) and SAPS II (26.6 vs. 22.2, p < 0.001) scores, higher incidence of organ failure (24.6% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.048) and a higher mortality rate during SICU (14.0% vs. 5.2%, p = 0.026) and hospital stay (9.3% vs. 5.0%, p = 0.012).

Conclusion: We found that very elderly patients represented a significant proportion of patients admitted to the SICU. They had higher severity scores with a higher prevalence of organ failure and were more likely to undergo non-elective surgery. They had worse outcomes in regarding mortality during SICU and hospital stay.

Keywords: Cirurgia; Complicações pós‐operatórias; Critical care; Cuidados críticos; Elderly; Idosos; Mortalidade; Mortality; Postoperative complications; Surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Muessig J.M., Masyuk M., Nia A.M., et al. Are we ever too old? Characteristics and outcome of octogenarians admitted to a medical intensive care unit. Medicine (Baltimore) 2017;96:e7776. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ihra G.C., Lehberger J., Hochrieser H., et al. Development of demographics and outcome of very old critically ill patients admitted to intensive care units. Intensive Care Med. 2012;38:620–626. - PubMed
    1. Lee B., Na S., Park M., et al. Home return after surgery in patients aged over 85 years is associated with preoperative albumin levels, the type of surgery and APACHE II Score. World J Surg. 2017;41:919–926. - PubMed
    1. Orimo H., Ito H., Suzuki T., et al. Reviewing the definition of “elderly”. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2006;6:149–158.
    1. Conti M., Merlani P., Ricou B. Prognosis and quality of life of elderly patients after intensive care. Swiss Med Wkly. 2012;142 - PubMed