Key result
Acute abdominal pathology in older adults frequently requires surgery and carries high mortality over 80.
Why the study?
The acute abdomen is common in older people with high hospital admission and emergency surgery rates, and there is a high mortality rate in those over 80 undergoing emergency surgery with regional variation.
This review highlights the significant clinical burden and high mortality associated with acute abdominal pathology in the older population.
Requires heightened suspicion for acute abdomen in older adults; leaves open targeted interventions to reduce octogenarian mortality.
The acute abdomen is a common condition in older people. Half of all presentations to hospital require admission, with a third requiring immediate surgery. The Royal College of Surgeons of England have reported a worryingly high mortality rate in the over 80s undergoing emergency surgery, with a 3-fold difference in mortality throughout the England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The aim of this article is to highlight the issues that older people face in relation to acute abdominal pathology.
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McCarthy et al. (2013) conducted a review in Acute abdomen. Acute abdominal pathology was evaluated. Acute abdominal pathology in older people frequently requires admission and surgery, and carries a high mortality rate in patients over 80 years of age.
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