Impact of Surgery on Older Patients Hospitalized With an Acute Abdomen: Findings From the Older Persons Surgical Outcome Collaborative.

Background: The impact of surgery compared to non-surgical management of older general surgical patients is not well researched. Methods: We examined the association between management and adverse outcomes in a cohort of emergency general surgery patients aged > 65 years. This multi-center study included 727 patients (mean+/-SD, 77.1 ± 8.2 years, 54% female) admitted to five UK hospitals. Data were analyzed using multi-level crude and multivariable logistic regression. Outcomes were: mortality at Day 30 and 90, length of stay, and readmission within 30 days of discharge. Covariates assessed were management approach, age, sex, frailty, polypharmacy, anemia, and hypoalbuminemia. Results: Approximately 25% of participants (n = 185) underwent emergency surgery. Frailty and albumin were associated with mortality at 30 (frailty OR = 3.52 [95% CI 1.66-7.49], albumin OR = 3.78 ([95% CI 1.53-9.31]), and 90 days post discharge (frailty OR = 3.20 [95% CI 1.86-5.51], albumin OR=3.25 [95% CI 1.70-6.19]) and readmission (frailty OR = 1.56 [95% CI (1.04-2.35)]). Surgically managed patients and frailty had increased odds of prolonged hospitalization (surgery OR = 5.69 [95% CI 3.67-8.80], frailty OR = 2.17 [95% CI 1.46-3.23]). Conclusion: We found the impact of surgery on length of hospitalization in older surgical patients is substantial. Whether early comprehensive geriatric assessment and post-op rehabilitation would improve this outcome require further evaluation.

Atypical presentation of COVID-19 in a frail older person.

Common symptoms of pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) include fever and cough. We describe a 94-year-old man with well-controlled schizoaffective disorder, who presented with non-specific and atypical symptoms: delirium, low-grade pyrexia and abdominal pain. He was given antibiotics for infection of unknown source, subsequently refined to treatment for community-acquired pneumonia. Despite active treatment, he deteriorated with oxygen desaturation and tachypnoea. A repeat chest X-ray showed widespread opacification. A postmortem throat swab identified COVID-19 infection. He was treated in three wards over 5 days with no infection control precautions. This has implications for the screening, assessment and isolation of frail older people to COVID-specific clinical facilities and highlights the potential for spread among healthcare professionals and other patients.

The Prevalence of Delirium in An Older Acute Surgical Population and Its Effect on Outcome.

BACKGROUND: With an ageing population, an increasing number of older adults are admitted for assessment to acute surgical units. Older adults have specific factors that may influence outcomes, one of which is delirium (acute cognitive impairment). OBJECTIVES: To establish the prevalence of delirium on admission in an older acute surgical population and its effect on mortality. Secondary outcomes investigated include hospital readmission and length of hospital stay. METHOD: This observational multi-centre study investigated consecutive patients, ≥65 years, admitted to the acute surgical units of five UK hospitals during an eight-week period. On admission the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) score was performed to detect delirium. The effect of delirium on important clinical outcomes was investigated using tests of association and logistic regression models. RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 411 patients with a mean age of 77.3 years (SD 8.1). The prevalence of admission delirium was 8.8% (95% CI 6.2-11.9%) and cognitive impairment was 70.3% (95% CI 65.6-74.7%). The delirious group were not more likely to die at 30 or 90 days (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.2 to 5.1, p = 0.67; OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.4 to 4.1. p = 0.82) or to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.4 to 2.2, p = 0.89). Length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the delirious group (median 8 vs. 5 days respectively, p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Admission delirium occurs in just under 10% of older people admitted to acute surgical units, resulting in significantly longer hospital stays.

Prevalence of multimorbidity and its association with outcomes in older emergency general surgical patients: an observational study.

OBJECTIVES: Multimorbidity is the presence of 2 or more medical conditions. This increasingly used assessment has not been assessed in a surgical population. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of multimorbidity and its association with common outcome measures. DESIGN: A cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: A UK-based multicentre study, included participants between July and October 2014. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive emergency (non-elective) general surgical patients admitted to hospital, aged over 65 years. OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures were (1) the prevalence of multimorbidity and (2) the association between multimorbidity and frailty; the rate and severity of surgery; length of hospital stay; readmission to hospital within 30 days of discharge; and death at 30 and 90 days. RESULTS: Data were collected on 413 participants aged 65-98 years (median 77 years, (IQR (70-84)). 51.6% (212/413) participants were women. Multimorbidity was present in 74% (95% CI 69.7% to 78.2%) of the population and increased with age (p<0.0001). Multimorbidity was associated with increasing frailty (p for trend <0.0001). People with multimorbidity underwent surgery as often as those without multimorbidity, including major surgery (p=0.03). When comparing multimorbid people with those without multimorbidity, we found no association between length of hospital stay (median 5 days, IQR (1-54), vs 6 days (1-47), (p=0.66)), readmission to hospital (64 (21.1%) vs 18 (16.8%) (p=0.35)), death at 30 days (14 (4.6%) vs 6 (5.6%) (p=0.68)) or 90-day mortality (28 (9.2%) vs 8 (7.6%) (p=0.60)). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Multimorbidity is common. Nearly three-quarters of this older emergency general surgical population had 2 or more chronic medical conditions. It was strongly associated with age and frailty, and was not a barrier to surgical intervention. Multimorbidity showed no associations across a range of outcome measures, as it is currently defined. Multimorbidity should not be relied on as a useful clinical tool in guidelines or policies for older emergency surgical patients.

The prevalence of hyperglycaemia and its relationship with mortality, readmissions and length of stay in an older acute surgical population: a multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is to examine the prevalence of hyperglycaemia in an older acute surgical population and its effect on clinically relevant outcomes in this setting. METHODS: Using Older Persons Surgical Outcomes Collaboration (OPSOC) multicentre audit data 2014, we examined the prevalence of admission hyperglycaemia, and its effect on 30-day and 90-day mortality, readmission within 30 days and length of acute hospital stay using logistic regression models in consecutive patients, ≥65 years, admitted to five acute surgical units in the UK hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales. Patients were categorised in three groups based on their admission random blood glucose: <7.1, between 7.1 and 11.1 and ≥11.1 mmol/L. RESULTS: A total of 411 patients (77.25±8.14 years) admitted during May and June 2014 were studied. Only 293 patients (71.3%) had glucose levels recorded on admission. The number (%) of patients with a blood glucose <7.1, 7.1-11.1 and ≥11.1 mmol/L were 171 (58.4), 99 (33.8) and 23 (7.8), respectively. On univariate analysis, admission hyperglycaemia was not predictive of any of the outcomes investigated. Although the characteristics of those with no glucose level were not different from the included sample, 30-day mortality was significantly higher in those who had not had their admission glucose level checked (10.2% vs 2.7%), suggesting a potential type II error. CONCLUSION: Despite current guidelines, nearly a third of older people with surgical diagnoses did not have their glucose checked on admission highlighting the challenges in prognostication and evaluation research to improve care of older frail surgical patients.

Systematic review and meta-analysis: what is the evidence for oral iron supplementation in treating anaemia in elderly people?

BACKGROUND: Oral iron supplementation is used widely in older people despite observational studies suggesting it is ineffective. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to determine if oral iron therapy is effective in elderly people with iron deficiency anaemia. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to 23 January 2014. STUDY SELECTION: Randomised controlled trials comparing oral iron with no iron supplementation or placebo and measuring the change in haemoglobin levels in elderly patients with anaemia were included. Titles and abstracts were reviewed and publications were screened by both authors independently to exclude articles that did not satisfy the inclusion criteria. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS: Risk of bias was systematically assessed independently by both authors using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Data on the increase in haemoglobin level after therapy was either collected from original publications or by contacting the corresponding authors. Length of hospitalisation, mortality and adverse effect data were also analysed. RESULTS: A total of 6,163 citations were screened, but only three studies (a total of 440 participants with a mean age ranging between 70 and 83 years) met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed oral iron supplementation increased haemoglobin levels more than placebo or no treatment after 4-6 weeks of treatment (mean difference 0.35 g/dL, 95 % CI 0.12-0.59, p = 0.003). There were no statistically significant differences in adverse effects, length of hospitalisation or mortality. LIMITATIONS: Only one of the three studies was specific to older people and all studies involved patients in orthopaedic settings. The mean age of participants was different, and the dosage and frequency of ferrous sulphate differed. CONCLUSION: Oral iron raises haemoglobin levels in elderly people with iron deficiency anaemia by 0.35 g/dL after 4-6 weeks, but it is unclear if this results in tangible health benefits.

Minimizing anticholinergic drug prescribing in older hospitalized patients: a full audit cycle.

INTRODUCTION: Anticholinergic drugs are associated with poor outcomes in older patients but no specific intervention strategies aimed at reducing anticholinergic drug exposure have been described. OBJECTIVES: To identify whether a consultant-led medication review targeting anticholinergics would reduce anticholinergic drug exposure [number of anticholinergic drugs and Anticholinergic Risk Scale (ARS) score]. METHODS: The first phase of the audit included 70 consecutive admissions (mean age 84 years, 53 women). ARS score was calculated on admission and after initial consultant review. Re-audit was undertaken on another 70 consecutive admissions (mean age 83 years, 43 women) after introducing a system of informing the responsible consultant of the ARS score at their first review. RESULTS: Drugs with anticholinergic effects (n = 53) were prescribed preadmission to 45/140 (32%) of patients. Consultant geriatrician review reduced ARS scores (p = 0.01), especially following the introduction of the information system (p = 0.002). In the first arm of the audit, 51 (73%) patients had ARS of 0 after a consultant's review compared with 47 (67%) patients on admission, whilst 67 (96%) patients had ARS of 2 or less after a consultant's review compared with 63 (90%) patients on admission. In the second arm of the audit, 59 (84%) patients had ARS of 0 after a consultant's review compared with 48 (69%) patients on admission, whilst 70 (100%) patients had ARS of 2 or less after a consultant's review compared with 69 (99%) patients on admission. Anticholinergic drugs were either stopped, or their dose reduced, in 35% of patients in the first arm of the audit and in 73% of patients in the re-audit (odds ratio 5.0, 95% confidence interval 1.4-17.8). CONCLUSION: Consultant-led medication review (standard practice) was effective at reducing anticholinergic drug exposure in the acute setting. A system of alerting clinicians to patients prescribed anticholinergic medications further reduced anticholinergic drug exposure.