Repository logo

Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2013-10-17"

Filter results by year or month
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Cirurgia Geral de Urgência em Idosos
    Publication . Marques, Andreia Sofia Medley; Kirzner, Márcia Soares de Melo; Quintão, Maria Cidália Carvalho
    Introduction: In Portugal, the percentage of elderly population and the life expectancy at birth have increased in the last decades, reaching values of 19,03% and 79,8 years in 2011. Urgent surgery in the elderly has an elevated risk of mortality, morbidity and complications, mainly due to diagnostic difficulty, multiple co-morbidities and poor physiological reserve in the elder, leading to increased length of hospital stay and associated costs. Objectives: To study the main causes of surgical treatment and in-hospital mortality in elderly patients undergoing urgent general surgery procedures. Methods: An observational cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted taking as sample the elderly (=65 years) undergoing urgent general surgery procedures at Centro Hospitalar do Médio Tejo, E.P.E., over a two year period (January 2011 to December 2012). Gender, age, death, surgical causes and length of hospital stay were the variables analyzed. Results: 563 elderly were studied (52% male; 48% female). Mean age was 79,1 ± 7,6 years. Women have presented higher mean age (80,5 years) than men (77,8 years). During the study period were registered 130 deaths, general in-hospital mortality rate was 23,1%, being 31,5% and 15,5% for those aged 80 years and over and 65-79 years, respectively. Peripheral vascular disease (20,5%), Hernia (12,7%) and Gallbladder, Pancreas and Biliary Tract Pathology (12,4%) were the most frequent causes of surgical procedures. Vascular Insufficiency of Intestine had the highest fatality rate (55,0%). The average length of hospital stay was 13,6 days (median was 8 days). Conclusions: During the study period was observed an elevated mean age in the elderly undergoing urgent general surgery, being the male mean age lower than that presented by women. In-hospital mortality rate was above 20% (23,1%), and for the elderly aged 80 years and over was 2,3 times higher than the age group of 65-79 years. Peripheral vascular disease was the leading surgical cause for both genders, being the Hernias the second most frequent surgical cause. Vascular Insufficiency of Intestine presented the highest fatality rate. The average length of hospital stay was above 10 days (13,6 days).
    2013-10-17Master thesis Open access Show more