title: Prognostic factors for mortality among patients above the 6th decade undergoing non-cardiac surgery: cares--clinical assessment and research in elderly surgical patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To ascertain perioperative morbimortality and identify prognostic factors for mortality among patients > or = 55 years who undergo non-cardiac surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cohort of 403 patients relating to perioperative morbidity-mortality. Data were collected from a standardized protocol on gender, age, comorbidities, medications used, smoking, alcohol abuse, chronic use of benzodiazepine, nutritional status, presence of anemia, activities of daily living, American Society of Anesthesiology classification, Detsky's modified cardiac risk index--American College of Physicians, renal function evaluation, pulmonary risk according to the Torrington scale, risk of thromboembolic events, presence of malignant disease and complementary examinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the subjects was 70.8 +/- 8.1 years. The "very old" (> or =80 years) represented 14%. The mortality rate was 8.2%, and the complication rate was 15.8%. Multiple logistic regression showed that a history of coronary heart disease (OR: 3.75; p=0.02) and/or valvular heart disease (OR: 31.79; p=0.006) were predictors of mortality. The American Society of Anesthesiology classification was shown to be the best scale to mark risk (OR: 3.01; p=0.016). Nutritional status was a protective factor, in which serum albumin increases of 1 mg/dl decreased risk by 63%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that serum albumin, coronary heart disease, valvular heart disease and the American Society of Anesthesiology classification could be prognostic predictors for aged patients in a perioperative setting. In this sample, provided that pulmonary, cardiac and thromboembolic risks were properly controlled, they did not constitute risk factors for mortality. Furthermore, continuous effort to learn more about the preoperative assessment of elderly patients could yield intervention possibilities and minimize morbimortality.
authors.affiliation: Orthopedics Institute, Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriana Nunes
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo
authors.initials: Mdo C
authors.lastname: Sitta
authors.forename: Wilson
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jacob Filho
authors.forename: Luíz Eugênio
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Garcez-Leme
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D019990:Perioperative Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000401:mortality*