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The Relationship Between Age and Perioperative Complications

  • Geriatric Urology (TJ Guzzo and DJ Canter, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

With the continuous rise in life expectancy, the geriatric population has come to account for more than a third of all inpatient surgical procedures. This number will undoubtedly continue to rise over the next two decades. The geriatric population is at an increased risk of perioperative complications, and therefore, the elderly deserve special attention in the perioperative period. Ideally, this should commence upon initial consultation. A thorough history and physical exam can help stratify the patient risk factors and identify which patients require further preoperative testing. Consultations with other providers should be obtained as needed. In the operating room and postoperatively, each patient should receive individualized care tailored according to his/her preoperative work-up. In this paper, we review the steps that should be taken to minimize the risk of perioperative complications in the elderly.

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Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

Conflict of Interest Abdo E. Kabarriti, Eugene J Pietzak, Daniel J. Canter, and Thomas J Guzzo declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Urology, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Abdo E. Kabarriti, Eugene J. Pietzak & Thomas J Guzzo

  2. The Department of Urology, Einstein Health Network and The Urologic Institute of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Daniel J. Canter

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  1. Abdo E. Kabarriti
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  2. Eugene J. Pietzak
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Correspondence to Thomas J Guzzo.

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Kabarriti, A.E., Pietzak, E.J., Canter, D.J. et al. The Relationship Between Age and Perioperative Complications. Curr Geri Rep 3, 8–13 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-013-0069-y

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