Risk Factors for Post-Operative Mortality in Geriatric Patients

Risk factors for post-operative mortality:

(1) age of the patient in years

(2) dementia or other disabling mental disease

(3) diabetes mellitus

(4) cardiac disease

(5) emphysema or other respiratory disease

(6) duration of the surgical operation

(7) timing of the surgery

(8) anticoagulation of a patient at high risk (immobilized patients, etc) resulting in pulmonary embolism (dextran 70 was used as an anticoagulant during surgery)

where:

• The impact of pre-existing respiratory disease was lower than other risk factors but was present in 10% of patients who died.

number of risk factors =

= SUM(points for all 8 parameters)

Interpretation:

• minimum number of risk factors: 0

• maximum number of risk factors: 8

• The presence of 2 or more risk factors was associated with an increased risk of post-operative mortality.

Limitations:

• The study was done in 1979.

• The severity of illness at the time of surgery (as indicated by the ASA classification) was not specified but can be inferred from the timing of the procedure.