The Growing Challenge of the Older Surgical Population

Stanley G Jablonski; Richard D Urman

doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2019.04.001

The Growing Challenge of the Older Surgical Population

Anesthesiol Clin. 2019 Sep;37(3):401-409. doi: 10.1016/j.anclin.2019.04.001. Epub 2019 Jun 14.

Authors

Stanley G Jablonski¹, Richard D Urman²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
² Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31337474
DOI: 10.1016/j.anclin.2019.04.001

Abstract

The population of older adults is rapidly growing. With the continued advancement of medical and surgical interventions, the average age of this population will continue to increase. Nearly one-third of surgical procedures are performed in older adults. Physiologic changes, multiple comorbidities, frailty, and postoperative cognitive dysfunction affect an elderly patient's postoperative recovery. Anesthesia providers can play a key role in creating perioperative geriatric pathways. The perioperative care of a geriatric patient is associated with unique and anesthetic risks. Perioperative care must be tailored to individual patients to reduce perioperative complications in this important, vulnerable population.

Keywords: Anesthesia; Cognitive; Elderly; Frailty; Postoperative; Surgery.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anesthesia*
Anesthesiology
Comorbidity
Cost of Illness
Female
General Surgery*
Humans
Male
Perioperative Care
Population Dynamics*