The prognostic role of comorbidities in older patients qualified for emergency abdominal surgery

Abstract

Until now, the literature about the influence of specific comorbid conditions on outcome of emergency abdominal surgery in polish elderly patients is scars. The aim of the study was to determine the prognostic role of comorbidities in patients qualified for emergency abdominal surgery. Material and methods. One hundred and eighty four consecutive patients(98 female and 86 male). ≥65 years of age were prospectively enrolled. The mean age was 76.9±5.8 (range 65-100) years old. Results. Only 16% of patients did not have any preoperative comorbidity. The 30-day mortality was 24.5% (45 patients). The 30-day morbidity was experienced by the 58.7% (108 patients), including 40 patients (21.7%) with minor complications and 68 patients (37%) with major complications, according to the Clavien-Dindo complications scale. The dysrhythmia (odds ratio 1.6, 95% CI 1.2-2.6, p=0.02), vascular disease (odds ratio 2.1, 95% CI 1.4- 3.1, p=0.02) and renal disease (odds ratio 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-2.8, p=0.01) were independent risk factors of 30-day morbidity. The vascular disease was also the independent risk factor of 30-day postoperative death in the multivariate regression analysis (odds ratio 1.9, 95% CI 1.3-2.8, p=0.001). Conclusions. Preoperative comorbidities are common among elderly patients qualified for emergency abdominal surgery. However, only some of them (the dysrhythmia, the vascular disease and the renal disease) are independent risk factors of postoperative adverse outcomes. Therefore, number of comorbidies alone should not be the reason for a limited treatment.