Improved care transitions needed post ambulatory surgery
(HealthDay)—Patients age 70 or older are at greater risk of unanticipated hospital admission within 30 days of ambulatory surgery, even after adjusting for comorbidities, according to a study published online July 22 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Gildasio S. De Oliveira Jr., M.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues analyzed data from the 2012 National Surgical Quality Improvement Project to assess the impact of age on unanticipated hospital admission within 30 days of ambulatory surgery.
The researchers found that there were 1,370 hospital admissions (2.5 percent) among the 53,667 ambulatory surgical cases evaluated. Age (<70 versus ≥70 years) was independently associated with hospital admission (odds ratio, 1.54), when adjusting for potential confounders. Comorbidities, including renal failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, current cancer treatment, diabetes mellitus, and history of amputation or revascularization, were also associated with greater likelihood of hospital admission.
"Interventions to improve transitions of care for older adults after ambulatory surgery are needed," the authors write.
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