Cirugía en mayores de 80 años: evolución clínica y costos asociados / Surgical complications and costs among octogenarians

Background: Old age is a negative prognostic factor among patients subjected to surgical procedures. Aim: To assess the clinical profile and hospital stay costs among patients aged 80 years or more in a surgical department. Material and Methods: Retrospective review of medical records of 115 surgical patients aged 84 +/- 4 years (67 percent males), hospitalized during 2007. Clinical presentation, surgical treatment, functional status on admission and discharge and hospitalization costs, was analyzed. Results: Ninety percent of patients had associated diseases and 83 percent had previous surgical procedures. On admission, 88 percent of patients had a normal functional status. Hernia was the most common surgical diagnosis in 17 percent. Thirty percent required emergency surgery. Mean hospital stay was 11 days, 47 percent required admission to the critical patients unit, 20 percent had complications, 8 percent required a second operation and two patients died. At discharge, 27 percent had a functional impairment. Hospitalization costs were 3.8 times greater among those that had complications, 3.1 times higher among those that required a second intervention and 1.8 times higher among those classified as III or IV according to American Surgical Association physical status classification, compared with those classified as I or II. Conclusions: Surgical patients aged more than 80 years, are more prone to complications and their hospitalization costs are higher.

Introducción: Los octogenarios son un grupo demográficamente emergente, que han generado cambios en la epidemiología del paciente quirúrgico, asociándose a mayores tasas de complicaciones, mortalidad y costos de atención. Objetivo: Estudiar el perfil clínico y costos de hospitalización de los pacientes octogenarios atendidos el año 2007 en nuestro departamento de cirugía. Material y Método: Revisión retrospectiva de los registros clínicos de pacientes quirúrgicos mayores de 80 años durante el año 2007. Se analizó la presentación clínica, tratamiento quirúrgico, evolución postoperatoria y status funcional (escala KATZ) al ingreso y alta. Se analizó además los costos asociados a la hospitalización y tratamiento. Resultados: Serie de 115 pacientes con edad promedio de 83,7 años. Un 89,5 por ciento presentaron comorbilidades y 85,2 por ciento cirugías previas. Al ingreso un 87,7 por ciento eran autovalentes (KATZ A-B). El diagnóstico quirúrgico más frecuente fue Hernia (16,87 por ciento). Un 29,5 por ciento se intervino de urgencia. La estadía total promedio fue 10,6 días, requiriendo un 47 por ciento de los pacientes Unidad de Pacientes Críticos (UPC). Un 20 por ciento sufrió complicaciones (principalmente delirium), 7,8 por ciento requirió reintervención, y dos pacientes fallecieron. Un 26,7 por ciento presentó deterioro funcional al alta. El costo de hospitalización fue 3,75 veces mayor en los complicados, 3,1 veces mayor en los re-operados, 3,69 veces mayor en los que requirieron UPC, y 1,77 veces mayor en los ASA III-IV respecto a los I-II. Conclusión: Las complicaciones fueron en su mayoría no-quirúrgicas asociándose a hospitalizaciones prolongadas y de alto costo económico, con alta tasa de permanencia en UPC. Los factores asociados a mayor costo fueron complicación postoperatoria, re-operación, estadía prolongada en UPC y ASA III-IV.

La edad paterna como factor de riesgo para malformaciones congénitas / Paternal age as a risk factor for congenital malformations

The role of advanced maternal age as a risk factor for congenital malformations in offspring is known. However, the influence of paternal age is not clear. Aim: To evaluate the association between advanced paternal age and the risk for congenital malformations. Patients and Methods: Analysis of maternal and paternal age of cases (malformed newborns) and controls from ECLAMC Database (Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations) registered at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital during the decade from Jan 1 1997 to Dec 31 2006. Newborns and stillborns were grouped according to maternal age into 6 intervals. In each interval, paternal ages of cases and controls were compared. The inverse procedure was performed to assess maternal age effect. Other variables as gestational age and birth weight were analyzed for the intervals of maternal and paternal ages. Results: No significant differences were observed in paternal age between cases and controls in any of the intervals of maternal age. However, mean maternal age was higher for cases than for controls (p =0,0149). Gestational age and birth weight depend more on being case or control than on the age of parents. Conclusions: No differences in paternal age were observed between cases and controls in this series of newborns.