title: Cardiac surgery in octogenarians: does age alone influence outcomes?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Outcome differences in octogenarians vs patients younger than 80 years undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting or valve surgery can be analyzed to isolate the effect of age alone on morbidity and mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight-year hospitalization cohort study. Physicians, nurses, and perfusionists prospectively collected data on 225 variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A consecutive sample of 7726 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting or valve surgery between October 1, 1993, and February 28, 2001.
  
  
  METHODS
  There were 9 main outcomes of interest: mortality, length of hospital stay, gastrointestinal tract complications, neurologic complications, pulmonary complications, renal complications, return to intensive care unit, intraoperative complications, and reoperation to treat bleeding. We controlled for 16 potential confounding variables to isolate outcome differences according to age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 7726 patients who fit the inclusion criteria, 522 were octogenarians. Compared with nonoctogenarians, octogenarians had a significantly higher New York Heart Association functional classification, higher incidence of hypertension, and underwent a greater number of coronary artery bypass grafting plus valve surgical procedures (P<.05). They also had significantly lower body surface area, fewer total number of grafts used, less history of tobacco use, and less abnormal left ventricular hypertrophy, and there were fewer nonwhite patients and fewer men. At multivariate analysis, octogenarians had a higher risk for death (relative risk [RR], 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.52-1.83), longer hospital stay (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04), more neurologic complications (RR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.26-1.67), and were more likely to undergo a reoperation to treat bleeding (RR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.09-1.72). Univariate analyses revealed no difference between octogenarians and nonoctogenarians for diabetes mellitus, urgency of procedure, prior myocardial infarction, time since last myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular history, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or pump time.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Age alone has been shown to influence outcomes after cardiac bypass or valve surgery. Octogenarians undergoing cardiac surgery have more comorbidities and higher mortality even after controlling for 16 potential confounding variables, compared with nonoctogenarians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA.
authors.forename: W Michael
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Mary Pat
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hendy
authors.forename: Loren F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Hiratzka
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome