ACS NSQIP risk calculator predicts four outcomes for geriatric surgical patients

Editor's Note

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Surgical Risk Calculator accurately predicted four quality-of-life outcomes that transcend traditional measures of successful surgery and now reflects the expected effects of surgery on an older patient’s ability to function independently, finds this study presented October 29 at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2019 in San Francisco.

Data were collected from 38,045 patients 65 years of age or older who had surgery at one of ACS NSQIP’s 21 participating hospitals between 2014 and 2017.

Of these, 42% required a new mobility aid, 37.68% had functional decline, 10.51% had delirium, and 1.43% developed a pressure ulcer after surgery.

The researchers say the Calculator’s precision and accuracy in predicting these outcomes will help surgeons counsel older patients considering surgery and their families about the likelihood of the patient developing a pressure ulcer, becoming delirious, needing a new mobility device, or experiencing functional decline.