ACS NSQIP pilot identifies geriatric–specific risk factors that affect surgical outcomes

Editor's Note

A new pilot study from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) finds that adding geriatric-specific risk factors to traditional risk factors could significantly improve the ability of surgeons to predict poor surgical outcomes in older patients.

The study involved 36,399 older surgical patients at 31 hospitals. The researchers found that 10 of 14 geriatric-specific variables analyzed contributed in predicting morbidity and mortality in older patients having general vascular and orthopedic surgery.

To provide optimal care for older patients, surgical databases should collect measures that address cognition, decision making, mobility, and function, the authors concluded.

Surgical quality datasets can be better tailored toward older adults. The American
College of Surgeons (ACS) NSQIP Geriatric Surgery Pilot collected risk factors and
outcomes in 4 geriatric-specific domains: cognition, decision-making, function, and
mobility. This study evaluated the contributions of geriatric-specific factors to
risk adjustment in modeling 30-day outcomes and geriatric-specific outcomes (postoperative
delirium, new mobility aid use, functional decline, and pressure ulcers).

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