Conclusion Geriatric syndromes are important prognostic factors for postoperative complications .
Background Elective surgeries can be associated with significant harm to older adults .
The present study aim ed to identify the prognostic factors associated with the development of postoperative complications among older adults undergoing elective surgery .
Patient Empowerment Improved Perioperative Quality of Care in Cancer Patients Aged ≥ 65 Years – A Randomized Controlled Trial
Purpose This r and omized controlled , clinical prospect i ve interventional trial was aim ed at exploring the effect of patient empowerment on short- and long-term outcomes after major oncologic surgery in elderly cancer patients . Methods This trial was performed from February 2011 to January 2014 at two tertiary medical centers in Germany . The study included patients aged 65 years and older undergoing elective surgery for gastro-intestinal , genitourinary , and thoracic cancer . The patients were r and omly assigned to the intervention group , i.e. patient empowerment through information booklet and diary keeping , or to the control group , which received st and ard care . R and omization was done by block r and omization in blocks of four in order of enrollment . The primary outcome were 1,postoperative length of hospital stay ( LOS ) and 2 . long-term global health-related quality of life ( HRQoL ) one year postoperatively . HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ C30 question naire . Secondary outcomes encompassed postoperative stress and complications . Further objectives were the identification of predictors of LOS , and HRQoL at 12 months . Results Overall 652 patients were included . The mean age was 72 ± 4.9 years , and the majority of patients were male ( 68.6 % , n = 447 ) . The ^median of postoperative length of stay was 9 days ( IQR 7–14 day ) . There were no significant differences between the intervention and the control groups in postoperative LOS ( p = 0.99 ) or global HRQoL after one year ( women : p = 0.54 , men : p = 0.94 ) . While overall complications and major complications occurred in 74 % and 24 % of the cases , respectively , frequency and severity of complications did not differ significantly between the groups . Patients in the intervention group reported significantly less postoperative pain ( p = 0.03 ) than the control group . Independent predictors for LOS were identified as severity of surgery , length of anesthesia , major postoperative complications , nutritional state , and pre-operative physical functional capacity measured by the Timed Up and Go-test by multiple robust regressions . Conclusion Patient empowerment through information booklet and diary keeping did not shorten the postoperative LOS in elderly onco-surgical patients , but improved quality of care regarding postoperative pain . Postoperative length of stay is influenced by pre-operative nutritional state , pre-operative functional impairment , severity of surgery , and length of anesthesia . Trial Registration Clinical trials.gov . Identifier
Conclusion Geriatric syndromes are important prognostic factors for postoperative complications .
Background Elective surgeries can be associated with significant harm to older adults .
The present study aim ed to identify the prognostic factors associated with the development of postoperative complications among older adults undergoing elective surgery .