ABSTRACT
Introduction: Older adults comprise an increasing proportion of emergency general surgery (EGS) admissions and face high morbidity and mortality. We created a geriatric surgical service with geriatric and palliative expertise to mitigate risks of hospitalization most hazardous to older patients. In this study, we identified geriatric surgical service interventions most relevant to EGS patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients >75 years admitted to the EGS service at our urban tertiary care hospital with a score >3 by the FRAIL scale, a five-point frailty screening instrument, or history of dementia. The geriatric surgical service, led by a dually-board certified geriatric and palliative care specialist, consulted on these patients from January 2020-January 2021;a hiatus was taken for the COVID-19 pandemic. Consults included a comprehensive geriatric assessment and calculated a modified Rockwood Frailty Index. Hospital admission characteristics and consultation components were collected via chart review. Results: Forty patients were evaluated (median age 82 years (IQR 78-89), 55.0% female). The most common admission diagnosis was small bowel obstruction (32.5%). 62.5% of patients underwent >1 surgical procedure. Median time to geriatric consult from admission was 3 days (IQR 1.0-4.3). By Frailty Index, 58% were moderately or severely frail. Interventions included medication changes (97.5%), symptom management (82.5%), delirium prevention and management (65.0%), mobility and function recommendations (65.0%), serious illness conversations (55.0%), and code status change (17.5%). Conclusion: Geriatric service involvement identifies and addresses a high burden of both geriatric and palliative care needs in older adult EGS patients.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 20-30% of family members had symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or anxiety, while 15-30% had symptoms of depression. Interventions supporting family members have reduced burden of these symptoms. COVID-19 has resulted in prolonged ICU stays, high morbidity/mortality, and hospital policies severely limiting family presence at the bedside. We hypothesized the combination of prolonged critical illness and the necessary reduction of family presence would lead to high rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depression;likely higher than observed in previous studies. Methods: This was a multicenter study including 12 US hospitals, 8 academic and 4 community-based hospitals. A consecutive sample of family members of all patients with COVID-19 receiving ICU admission during the spring US peak in 2020 were called 3-4 months after the patients' ICU admission, except for New York City hospitals where a random sample was generated given the large number of hospitalizations. Consented participants completed the Impact-of- Events Scale-6 (IES-6;scored 0-30, higher scores indicate more symptoms of PTSD), Hospital-Anxiety- Depression Score (HADS, scored 0-20 for anxiety and 0-20 for depression, higher scores indicate more symptoms), and a subset of questions from Family-Satisfaction in the ICU-27 (FS-ICU27;scored on a Likert scale 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating more positive responses) selected as most likely impacted by restrictive family presence.Results: There were 945 eligible family members during the study period. Of those, 594 were contacted and 269 (45.3%) consented and completed surveys. The mean IES-6 score was 12.6 (95% CI 11.8- 13.4) with 65.4% having a score of 10 or greater, consistent with high levels of symptoms of PTSD. The mean score on the HADS-anxiety was 9.4 (95% CI 8.8-10.1) with 59.5% having a score of 8 or greater, consistent with high levels of symptoms of anxiety. Finally, the mean score for the HADS-depression was 8.0 (95% CI 7.3-8.7) with 47.6% having scores of 8 or greater, consistent with high level of symptoms of depression. The mean response for the FSICU27 questions of “I felt I had control” was 3.5 (95% CI 3.3-3.6), “I felt supported” was 3.8 (95% CI 3.6-4.0), and “I felt included” was 4.3 (95% CI 4.2-4.4).Conclusion: The consequences of a family member admitted to the ICU with COVID-19 infection are significant. We identify rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depression higher than recorded in non-COVID population. Further analysis is warranted to understand modifiable risk factors for developing these symptoms.