Abstract
The number of older patients undergoing surgery is increasing due to changing demographics, surgical and anaesthetic
advances and shifts in patient expectations of healthcare. The benefits of surgery in older people are well documented and
include symptom control and increased life expectancy. However, older surgical patients present not only with the index
pathology requiring surgery but with concurrent age related physiological decline, multimorbidity and geriatric syndromes.
These additional issues increase the risk of adverse postoperative outcome, in particular of postoperative medical and
functional complications. In recent years, there has been recognition of the need for collaborative surgical and geriatric
medicine working to address the health care needs of the increasingly complex older surgical population. Guidelines have
been published to support clinicians looking after older surgical patients, however, there has been little published on the
establishment of such services. In this paper, we describe the evolution of the proactive care of older patients undergoing
surgery (POPS) service and how through the use of comprehensive geriatric assessment methodology and intervention
throughout the surgical pathway, outcomes for complex older surgical patients can be improved.
advances and shifts in patient expectations of healthcare. The benefits of surgery in older people are well documented and
include symptom control and increased life expectancy. However, older surgical patients present not only with the index
pathology requiring surgery but with concurrent age related physiological decline, multimorbidity and geriatric syndromes.
These additional issues increase the risk of adverse postoperative outcome, in particular of postoperative medical and
functional complications. In recent years, there has been recognition of the need for collaborative surgical and geriatric
medicine working to address the health care needs of the increasingly complex older surgical population. Guidelines have
been published to support clinicians looking after older surgical patients, however, there has been little published on the
establishment of such services. In this paper, we describe the evolution of the proactive care of older patients undergoing
surgery (POPS) service and how through the use of comprehensive geriatric assessment methodology and intervention
throughout the surgical pathway, outcomes for complex older surgical patients can be improved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 30 |
| Pages (from-to) | 253-257 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | AGING CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH |
| Volume | 30 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- POPS · Proactive care · Older people · Surgery · Comprehensive geriatric methodology