New horizons in the perioperative care of older adults

Abstract

Older adults undergoing surgery have high perioperative morbidity and mortality. Age-related physiological changes and prevalence of geriatric syndromes such as frailty increase the risk of adverse postoperative outcomes. Geriatricians utilise comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) and management to identify and manage geriatric syndromes, and deliver patient-centred perioperative care. Perioperative models of CGA are established for older patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. Recent trials support the benefits of perioperative models of CGA for non-orthopaedic surgery, and have influenced current care recommendations for older surgical patients. Areas for further action include addressing the implementation gap between recommended evidence-based perioperative care and routine perioperative care, evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of perioperative models of CGA for patients living with frailty, and embedding routine use of patient-reported outcome measures to inform quality improvement.

Keywords: ageing; comprehensive geriatric assessment; frailty; older people; perioperative; surgery in older person.