Perioperative outcomes after laparoscopic cholecystectomy in elderly patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is increasingly performed in an ever ageing population; however, the risks are poorly quantified. The study aims to review the current evidence to quantify further the postoperative risk of cholecystectomy in the elderly population compared to younger patients. METHOD: A systematic literature search of PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases were conducted including studies reporting laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the elderly population. A meta-analysis was reported in accordance with the recommendations of the Cochrane Library and PRISMA guidelines. Primary outcome was overall complications and secondary outcomes were conversion to open surgery, bile leaks, postoperative mortality and length of stay. RESULTS: This review identified 99 studies incorporating 326,517 patients. Increasing age was significantly associated with increased rates of overall complications (OR 2.37, CI95% 2.00-2.78), major complication (OR 1.79, CI95% 1.45-2.20), risk of conversion to open cholecystectomy (OR 2.17, CI95% 1.84-2.55), risk of bile leaks (OR 1.50, CI95% 1.07-2.10), risk of postoperative mortality (OR 7.20, CI95% 4.41-11.73) and was significantly associated with increased length of stay (MD 2.21 days, CI95% 1.24-3.18). CONCLUSION: Postoperative outcomes such as overall and major complications appear to be significantly higher in all age cut-offs in this meta-analysis. This study demonstrated there is a sevenfold increase in perioperative mortality which increases by tenfold in patients > 80 years old. This study appears to confirm preconceived suspicions of higher risks in elderly patients undergoing cholecystectomy and may aid treatment planning and informed consent.

Elderly patients have increased perioperative morbidity and mortality from oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although oesophagectomy remains technically challenging and associated with high morbidity and mortality, it is now increasingly performed in an ever-ageing population with improvement in perioperative care. However, the risks in the elderly population are poorly quantified. The study aims to review the current evidence to quantify further the postoperative risk of oesophagectomy for cancer in the elderly population compared to younger patients. METHOD: A systematic literature search of PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases was conducted including studies reporting oesophagectomy for cancer in the elderly population. A meta-analysis was reported in accordance with the recommendations of the Cochrane Library and PRISMA guidelines. Primary outcome was overall complications and secondary outcomes were pulmonary and cardiac complications, anastomotic leaks, overall and disease-free survival. RESULTS: This review identified 37 studies incorporating 30,836 patients. Increasing age was significantly associated with increased rates of overall complications (OR 1.67, CI95%: 1.42-1.96), pulmonary complications (OR 1.87, CI95%: 1.48-2.35), and cardiac complications (OR: 2.22, CI95%: 1.95-2.53). However, there was no increased risk of anastomotic leak (OR: 0.98, CI95%: 0.85-1.18). Elderly patients were significantly more likely to have lower rates of 5-year overall survival (OR: 1.36, CI95%: 1.11-1.66) and 5-year disease-free survival (OR: 1.72, CI95%: 1.51-1.96). CONCLUSION: Elderly patients undergoing oesophagectomy for cancer are at increased risk of overall, pulmonary and cardiac complications, irrespective of age subgroups, albeit no difference in anastomotic leaks. Therefore, they represent high-risk patients warranting implementation of preoperative pathways such as prehabilitation to improve cardiopulmonary fitness prior to surgery, although benefit of prehabilitation is yet to be proven. This information will also aid future pre-operative counselling and informed consent.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening: Collaboration between a Primary Care Clinic and Research Team.

BACKGROUND: Multiple randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that mailed fecal testing programs are effective in increasing colorectal cancer screening participation. However, few healthcare organization in the US have Implemented such programs. METHODS: Stakeholders from one clinic in an integrated healthcare system in Washington State initiated collaboration with researchers with expertise in CRC screening, aiming to increase screening rates at their clinic. Age-eligible individuals who were overdue for CRC screening and had previously completed a fecal test were randomized to receive mailed fecal immunochemical test kits (FIT) at the start of the project (Early) or 6 months later (Late). Outcomes included comparing FIT completion at 6 months by randomization group, and overall CRC screening rates at 12 months. We also assessed implementation facilitators and challenges. RESULTS: Overall 2,421 FIT tests were mailed at a cost of $10,739. At 6 months, FIT completion was significantly higher among the Early compared to the Late group (62% vs.47%, p <0.001). By 12 months, after both groups had received mailings, 71% in each group had completed a FIT. The clinic's overall CRC screening rate was 75.1% at baseline and 78.0% 12 months later. Key constructs associated with successful program implementation included strong stakeholder involvement, use of evidence-based strategies, simplicity, and low cost. Challenges included lack of a plan for maintaining the program. DISCUSSION: Collaboration between clinic stakeholders and researchers led to a successful project that rapidly increased CRC screening rates. However, institutional normalization of the program would be required to maintain it.

Emergency surgery in the elderly: challenges and solutions.

Elderly patients frequently present with surgical emergencies to health care providers, and outcomes in this group of patients remain poor. Contributing factors include frailty, preexisting comorbidity, polypharmacy, delayed diagnosis, and lack of timely and consultant-led treatment. In this review, we address common emergency surgical presentations in the elderly and highlight the specific challenges in caring for these patients. We summarize 20 years of reports by various medical bodies that have aimed to improve the care of these patients. To improve morbidity and mortality, several aspects of care need to be addressed. These include accurate and timely preoperative assessment to identify treatable pathology and, where possible, to consider and correct age-specific disease processes. Identification of patients in whom treatment would be futile or associated with high risk is needed to avoid unnecessary interventions and to give patients and carers realistic expectations. The use of multidisciplinary teams to identify common postoperative complications and age-specific syndromes is paramount. Prevention of complications is preferable to rescue treatment due to the high proportion of patients who fail to recover from adverse events. Even with successful surgical treatment, long-term functional decline and increased dependency are common. More research into emergency surgery in the elderly is needed to improve care for this growing group of vulnerable patients.

A systematic review of transarterial embolization versus emergency surgery in treatment of major nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Emergency surgery or transarterial embolization (TAE) are options for the treatment of recurrent or refractory nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Surgery has the disadvantage of high rates of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Embolization has become more available and has the advantage of avoiding laparotomy in this often unfit and elderly population. OBJECTIVE: To carry out a systematic review and meta-analysis of all studies that have directly compared TAE with emergency surgery in the treatment of major upper gastrointestinal bleeding that has failed therapeutic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. METHODS: A literature search of Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and Google Scholar was performed. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and rates of rebleeding. The secondary outcomes were length of stay and postoperative complications. RESULTS: A total of nine studies with 711 patients (347 who had embolization and 364 who had surgery) were analyzed. Patients in the TAE group were more likely to have ischemic heart disease (odds ratio [OR] =1.99; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33, 2.98; P=0.0008; I (2)=67% [random effects model]) and be coagulopathic (pooled OR =2.23; 95% CI: 1.29, 3.87; P=0.004; I (2)=33% [fixed effects model]). Compared with TAE, surgery was associated with a lower risk of rebleeding (OR =0.41; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.77; P<0.0001; I (2)=55% [random effects]). There was no difference in mortality (OR =0.70; 95% CI: 0.48, 1.02; P=0.06; I (2)=44% [fixed effects]) between TAE and surgery. CONCLUSION: When compared with surgery, TAE had a significant increased risk of rebleeding rates after TAE; however, there were no differences in mortality rates. These findings are subject to multiple sources of bias due to poor quality studies. These findings support the need for a well-designed clinical trial to ascertain which technique is superior.