Interdisciplinary program improves outcomes for older surgical patients

Editor's Note

In this study, an interdisciplinary program that includes a coordinated approach by healthcare professionals in surgery, geriatrics, and anesthesiology was associated with improved postoperative outcomes for high-risk older patients having elective abdominal surgery.

Compared with a control group (143 patients), older patients participating in the Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health program at Duke Health, Durham, North Carolina (183 patients):

• had shorter lengths of stay (4 vs 6 days)
• had lower readmission rates at 7 (2.8% vs 9,9%) and 30 days (7.8% vs 18.35)
• were more likely to be discharged home with self-care (62.3% vs 51.1%)
• experienced fewer complications (0.9 vs 1.4), despite higher rates of documented delirium (28.4% vs 5.6%).

Developing an interdisciplinary approach to treating older surgical patients is an important step toward improving surgical outcomes, the authors say.

Question Do older patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery benefit from participation in coordinated interdisciplinary perioperative care with geriatrics experts? Findings In this quality improvement case-control study, compared with the control group, older adults participating in the Perioperative Optimization of Senior Health program experienced shorter lengths of stay, had lower readmission rates at 7 days and 30 days, and were more likely to be discharged home with self-care, while experiencing fewer mean number of complications despite higher rates of delirium.

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