Priority areas for outcomes improvement among older adults undergoing inpatient general surgery inclusive of geriatric‐pertinent complications

Background Comprehensive studies on priority areas for improving geriatric surgery outcomes, inclusive of geriatric‐pertinent data, are limited. Methods The ACS NSQIP geriatric database (2014–2018) was used to older adults (≥65 years) undergoing inpatient general surgery procedures. Thirty‐day complication, functional decline, and mortality rates were analyzed, with a focus on two geriatric‐pertinent complications: delirium and new/worsening pressure ulcers. Results There were 9062 patients; 41.9% were ≥75 years. Mean age was 73.9 years. The majority of patients were female (54.0%), White (77.7%), and had independent functional status before surgery (94.0%). Overall 30‐day complication, functional decline, and mortality rates were 33.6%, 34.5%, and 3.5%, respectively; failure to the rescue rate was 9.7%. Including geriatric‐pertinent complications increased the overall complication rate by 20.4%. Delirium emerged as the leading complication (11.9%), followed by bleeding (11.1%), and wound‐related complications (10.1%); these three accounted for 53.7% of complications. Delirium and pressure ulcers were associated with a >50% rate of postoperative functional decline (52.0% and 71.4%, respectively); pressure ulcers were also notable for a 25.5% failure to the rescue rate. Both were also among complications most likely to occur following the 3 most common procedures (colorectal surgery, pancreatic resections, and exploratory laparotomy), which overall accounted for approximately 79.6% of complications, 73.4% of patients experiencing functional decline, and 82.3% of mortality. Conclusions Delirium is the leading complication among older adults undergoing inpatient surgery. Overall, a small number of complications and procedure groups account for most surgical morbidity and mortality among older adults and thus constitute priority areas for outcomes improvement.