Adverse events in ambulatory surgery. A comparison between elderly and younger patients

Purpose: An increasing number of elderly patients are undergoing ambulatory surgery. We examined whether ambulatory surgery carries a higher risk for the elderly than for younger patients. Methods: A total of 17,638 consecutive ambulatory surgical patients were enrolled in a prospective cohort study during a three-year period. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative information was collected. Twenty-seven percent of the enrolled patients were 65 yr or older. Incidence rates of intraoperative and postoperative adverse events among the elderly were compared with those among younger patients; we controlled for sex, ASA physical status, body mass index, type of surgery, and duration of procedure, using multiple logistic regression models. Results: Elderly patients had a higher incidence of any intraoperative event (adjusted odds ratio, 1.4; 99.7% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-2.0) and of intraoperative cardiovascular events (adjusted odds ratio, 2.0; 99.7% CI, 1.3-3.0). They also had a lower incidence of any postoperative event (adjusted odds ratio. 0.4; 99.7% CI, 0.3-0.6) and of postoperative pain (adjusted odds ratio, 0.2; 99.7% CI, 0.1-0.4), nausea and vomiting (adjusted odds ratio. 0.3; 99.7% CI, 0.1-0.6), and dizziness (adjusted odds ratio. 0.4; 99.7% CI, 0.2-1.0). Conclusion: The risks reported do not constitute a contraindication for elderly patients to undergo ambulatory surgery but this population may require more careful intraoperative cardiovascular management.