Juárez CD, Hurtado DJL, Escamilla OA, Miranda GO
Analysis of morbidity and mortality in geriatric surgical patients
Cir Gen 2005; 27 (2)

Language: Español
References: 17
Page: 120-129
PDF: 4. Kb.

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ABSTRACT

Objective:The purpose of this work was to analyze, in a group of patients older than 60 years (senile), the most frequent surgical problems, those procedures used to solve them, the relationship between morbidity and mortality and increasing age with either emergency or elective surgical procedures.
Setting:Second level health care hospital.
Type of study:Observational, retrospective, with no control group.
Patients and methods:Records of 653 patients 60 years old, in the department of surgery of a second level health care hospital were reviewed. Frequency of occurrence of surgical problems, the procedures used to solve them, as a whole or by decades, as well as the relationship between general morbidity and mortality in all groups, and either elective or emergency surgery, were all studied.
Statistical analysis:Frequency simple analysis and Chi square for inferences between morbidity and mortality were used.
Results:Fifty-nine percent of the 653 patients were females, 58.6% were between 60 and 69 years old. In general, cholelithiasis was the diagnosis most commonly observed (27.25%), followed by inguinal hernias (9%), and acute appendicitis (8.8%). Bile duct disease was the most common cause of surgical indication in this group of patients, since both cholelithiasis and choledocolithiasis accounted for 32.3% of all patients operated. Thus, cholecistectomy, with or without bile duct exploration, was the surgical procedure most commonly performed. The same behavior was observed in those patients grouped by decades. There were a larger number of emergency surgeries as age increased, which was not directly associated to either morbi-mortality, emergency surgery, or age itself. Surgical wound infection was the complication most commonly encountered, and intrabdominal sepsis was the most common cause of death. There was a statistical inference between morbi-mortality and emergency-elective surgery. Global morbidity was 9.18%, and mortality was 2.54%, which was not directly related with age increase in these patients.
Conclusion:Diagnosis, elective treatment, and younger age reduced morbi-mortality.