Perioperative factors predicting poor outcome in elderly patients following emergency general surgery: a multivariate regression analysis

Background Older adults (≥ 65 yr) are the fastest growing population and are presenting in increasing numbers for acute surgical care. Emergency surgery is frequently life threatening for older patients. Our objective was to identify predictors of mortality and poor outcome among elderly patients undergoing emergency general surgery. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 65–80 years undergoing emergency general surgery between 2009 and 2010 at a tertiary care centre. Demographics, comorbidities, in-hospital complications, mortality and disposition characteristics of patients were collected. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify covariate-adjusted predictors of in-hospital mortality and discharge of patients home. Results Our analysis included 257 patients with a mean age of 72 years; 52% were men. In-hospital mortality was 12%. Mortality was associated with patients who had higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class (odds ratio [OR] 3.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43–10.33, p = 0.008) and in-hospital complications (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.32–2.83, p = 0.001). Nearly two-thirds of patients discharged home were younger (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.85–0.99, p = 0.036), had lower ASA class (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.27–0.74, p = 0.002) and fewer in-hospital complications (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.53–0.90, p = 0.007). Conclusion American Society of Anesthesiologists class and in-hospital complications are perioperative predictors of mortality and disposition in the older surgical population. Understanding the predictors of poor outcome and the importance of preventing in-hospital complications in older patients will have important clinical utility in terms of preoperative counselling, improving health care and discharging patients home.