Review from JAMA — Does This Patient Have Delirium? — Value of Bedside Instruments

Elective surgeries can be associated with significant harm to older adults. The present study aimed to identify the prognostic factors associated with the development of postoperative complications among older adults undergoing elective surgery. Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and AgeLine were searched for articles published between inception and April 21, 2016. Prospective studies reporting prognostic factors associated with postoperative complications (composite outcome of medical and surgical complications), functional decline, mortality, post-hospitalization discharge destination, and prolonged hospitalization among older adults undergoing elective surgery were included. Study characteristics and prognostic factors associated with the outcomes of interest were extracted independently by two reviewers. Random effects meta-analysis models were used to derive pooled effect estimates for prognostic factors and incidences of adverse outcomes. Of the 5692 titles and abstracts that were screened for inclusion, 44 studies (12,281 patients) reported on the following adverse postoperative outcomes: postoperative complications (n =28), postoperative mortality (n = 11), length of hospitalization (n = 21), functional decline (n = 6), and destination at discharge from hospital (n = 13). The pooled incidence of postoperative complications was 25.17% (95% confidence interval (CI) 18.03–33.98%, number needed to follow = 4). The geriatric syndromes of frailty (odds ratio (OR) 2.16, 95% CI 1.29–3.62) and cognitive impairment (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.44–2.81) were associated with developing postoperative complications; however, there was no association with traditionally assessed prognostic factors such as age (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00–1.14) or American Society of Anesthesiologists status (OR 2.62, 95% CI 0.78–8.79). Besides frailty, other potentially modifiable prognostic factors, including depressive symptoms (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.22–2.56) and smoking (OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.32–4.46), were also associated with developing postoperative complications. Geriatric syndromes are important prognostic factors for postoperative complications. We identified potentially modifiable prognostic factors (e.g., frailty, depressive symptoms, and smoking) associated with developing postoperative complications that can be targeted preoperatively to optimize care.

Background Postoperative delirium is a common preventable complication experienced by older adults undergoing elective surgery. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we identified prognostic factors associated with the risk of postoperative delirium among older adults undergoing elective surgery. Methods Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and AgeLine were searched for articles published between inception and April 21, 2016. A total of 5692 titles and abstracts were screened in duplicate for possible inclusion. Studies using any method for diagnosing delirium were eligible. Two reviewers independently completed all data extraction and quality assessments using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias Tool for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for cohort studies. Random effects meta-analysis models were used to derive pooled effect estimates. Results Forty-one studies (9384 patients) reported delirium-related prognostic factors. Among our included studies, the pooled incidence of postoperative delirium was 18.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 14.3–23.3%, number needed to follow [NNF] = 6). Geriatric syndromes were important predictors of delirium, namely history of delirium (odds ratio [OR] 6.4, 95% CI 2.2–17.9), frailty (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.4–11.7), cognitive impairment (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.9–3.8), impairment in activities of daily living (ADLs; OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.6–2.6), and impairment in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs; OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3–2.8). Potentially modifiable prognostic factors such as psychotropic medication use (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.4–3.6) and smoking status (OR 1.8 95% CI 1.3–2.4) were also identified. Caregiver support was associated with lower odds of postoperative delirium (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.52–0.91). Discussion Though caution must be used in interpreting meta-analyses of non-randomized studies due to the potential influence of unmeasured confounding, we identified potentially modifiable prognostic factors including frailty and psychotropic medication use that should be targeted to optimize care.

The Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and the laboratory Frailty Index (FI-lab) are validated tools based on clinical and laboratory data, respectively. Their utility as predictors of geriatric trauma outcomes is unknown. Our primary objective was to determine whether pre-admission CFS is associated with adverse discharge destination. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the relationships between CFS and in-hospital complications and between admission FI-lab and discharge destination. We performed a 4-year (2011 to 2014) retrospective cohort study with patients 65 years and older admitted to a level I trauma center. Admission FI-lab was calculated using 23 variables collected within 48 hours of presentation. The primary outcome was discharge destination, either adverse (death or discharge to a long-term, chronic, or acute care facility) or favorable (home or rehabilitation). The secondary outcome was in-hospital complications. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between CFS or FI-lab and outcomes. There were 266 patients included. Mean age was 76.5 ± 7.8 years and median Injury Severity Score was 17 (interquartile range 13 to 24). There were 260 patients and 221 patients who had sufficient data to determine CFS and FI-lab scores, respectively. Pre-admission frailty as per the CFS (CFS 6 or 7) was independently associated with adverse discharge destination (odds ratio 5.1; 95% CI 2.0 to 13.2; p < 0.001). Severe frailty on admission, as determined by the FI-lab (FI-lab > 0.4), was not associated with adverse outcomes. Pre-admission clinical frailty independently predicts adverse discharge destination in geriatric trauma patients. The CFS may be used to triage resources to mitigate adverse outcomes in this population. The FI-lab determined on admission for trauma may not be useful.

Review from JAMA — Does This Patient Have Bacterial Peritonitis or Portal Hypertension? How Do I Perform a Paracentesis and Analyze the Results?

To describe and evaluate an inpatient geriatric trauma consultation service (GTCS). Delays in recognizing the special needs of older trauma patients may result in suboptimal care. The GTCS is a proactive geriatric consultation model aimed at preventing and managing age-specific complications and discharge planning for all patients 60 years or older admitted to the St Michael's Hospital Trauma Service. This was a before and after case series of patients admitted pre-GTCS (March 2005-August 2007) and post-GTCS (September 2007-March 2010). Study data were derived from a review of the medical records and from the St Michael's Hospital trauma registry. Abstracted data included demographics, type of geriatric issues addressed, rate of adherence to recommendations made by the GTCS, geriatric-specific clinical outcomes, trauma quality indicators, consultation requests, and discharge destinations. A total of 238 pre-GTCS patients and 248 post-GTCS patients were identified. The rate of adherence to recommendations made by the GTCS team was 93.2%. There were fewer consultation requests made to Internal Medicine and Psychiatry in the post-GTCS group (N = 31 vs N = 18, P = 0.04; and N = 33 vs N = 18, P = 0.02; respectively). There were no differences in any of the prespecified complications except delirium (50.5% pre-GTCS vs 40.9% post- GTCS, P = 0.05). Among patients admitted from home, fewer were discharged to long-term care facilities among the post-GTCS group (6.5% pre-GTCS vs 1.7% post-GTCS, P = 0.03). A proactive geriatric consultation model for elderly trauma patients may decrease delirium and discharges to long-term care facilities. Future studies should include a multicenter randomized trial of this model of care.