The following is a summary of “Outcomes for patients with dementia undergoing emergency and elective colorectal surgery: A large multi-institutional comparative cohort study,” published in the JULY 2023 issue of Surgery by Clark, et al.
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) can have a negative impact on surgical outcomes. For a study, researchers sought to understand the risk of ADRD on postoperative outcomes for patients undergoing colorectal surgery.
Using electronic health record-linked Medicare claims data from two large health systems, the researchers identified colorectal surgery patients with and without ADRD from 2007 to 2017. Unadjusted and adjusted analyses were conducted to evaluate postoperative outcomes.
A total of 5,926 patients, with a median age of 74, underwent colorectal surgery, and 4.8% (n = 285) of them had ADRD. A higher percentage of ADRD patients were discharged to a facility (49.8% vs. 28.9%, P< 0.001) and underwent emergent procedures (27.7% vs. 13.6%, P< 0.001). After correcting for numerous covariates, it was discovered that ADRD patients needed longer hospital stays (7.1 vs. 6.1 days, P = 0.001) and had a higher risk of developing problems (61.1% vs. 48.3%, P< 0.001) than those without ADRD.
The diagnosis of ADRD is an independent risk factor for prolonged hospitalization and postoperative complications following colorectal surgery. The findings highlighted the importance of considering ADRD as a critical factor in surgical planning and decision-making for colorectal surgery patients.
Source: americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(23)00108-3/fulltext