Surgery

E-mail: r.nirula@hsc.utah.edu
Address: RM 3B148 SOM
Phone: 587-9367

The risk and cost of care to geriatric surgical patients

The rapidly aging population of the United States is leading to increased health care resource utilization.  Many studies have identified age as a risk factor for worse outcomes with surgical intervention, but few have actually quantified the risk of complications and incremental cost of care specific to the older age group.  This has direct implications in patient selection, informed consent for complication risks and the perioperative management of the elderly.  Characterization of national outcomes after general surgical procedures using the Health Care Utilization Project’s National Inpatient Sample will provide a national perspective on the real incidence of complications in this age group after general surgical procedures.

12/2007