Baseline characteristics of older patients discharged from hospital after emergency abdominal surgery
| Characteristic | Preadmission level of frailty*; no. (%) of patients† | p value‡ | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Well n = 72 | Vulnerable n = 168 | Frail n = 68 | ||
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 73.9 ± 7.0 | 75.2 ± 6.7 | 79.9 ± 9.2 | < 0.001 |
| Sex, female | 30 (41.7) | 75 (44.6) | 35 (51.5) | 0.2 |
| Ethnicity, white | 57 (79.2) | 122 (72.6) | 52 (76.5) | 0.7 |
| Marital status, married or common-law§ | 52 (72.2) | 122 (72.6) | 37 (54.4) | 0.03 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, median (IQR)§ | 0 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) | 2 (1–3) | < 0.001 |
| BMI, mean ± SD | 26 ± 4.5 | 27.6 ± 6.4 | 26.9 ± 6.5 | 0.4 |
| No. of admission medications, mean ± SD | 1.3 ± 0.5 | 1.5 ± 0.6 | 2.0 ± 0.7 | < 0.001 |
| Laboratory results in normal range on admission | ||||
| Hemoglobin§ | 57 (79.2) | 115 (68.5) | 37 (54.4) | 0.003 |
| Sodium | 60 (83.3) | 138 (82.1) | 50 (73.5) | 0.1 |
| Potassium§ | 64 (88.9) | 133 (79.2) | 57 (83.8) | 0.3 |
| Creatinine§ | 61 (84.7) | 113 (67.3) | 36 (52.9) | < 0.001 |
| Type of initial surgery | 0.01 | |||
| Colon | 7 (9.7) | 25 (14.9) | 11 (16.2) | |
| Small intestine | 19 (26.4) | 44 (26.2) | 24 (35.3) | |
| Hernia | 10 (13.9) | 23 (13.7) | 9 (13.2) | |
| Open cholecystectomy–appendectomy | 10 (13.9) | 9 (5.4) | 4 (5.9) | |
| Closed cholecystectomy–appendectomy | 23 (31.9) | 52 (31.0) | 11 (16.2) | |
| Other | 3 (4.2) | 15 (8.9) | 9 (13.2) | |
| ASA class, median (IQR)§ | 2 (2–3) | 3 (2–3) | 3 (3–4) | < 0.001 |
| Creation of ostomy§ | 3 (4.2) | 16 (9.5) | 9 (13.2) | 0.06 |
| Recovery on ward after initial surgery§ | 68 (94.4) | 153 (91.1) | 48 (70.6) | < 0.001 |
| Total no. of consultations, median (IQR)§ | 0 (0–1) | 0 (0–1) | 1 (0–2) | < 0.001 |
| Geriatric consultation | 1 (1.4) | 3 (1.8) | 7 (10.3) | 0.005 |
| Postoperative use of total parenteral nutrition§ | 14 (19.4) | 33 (19.6) | 21 (30.9) | 0.1 |
| Postoperative use of Foley catheter§ | 41 (56.9) | 111 (66.1) | 51 (75.0) | 0.02 |
| Length of stay, d, median (IQR)§ | 7 (4–11) | 9 (6–12) | 13 (7.5–27.5) | < 0.001 |
| Discharge disposition§ | < 0.001 | |||
| Home, living independently | 63 (87.5) | 121 (72.0) | 24 (35.3) | |
| Home, with support, or lodge | 7 (9.7) | 33 (19.6) | 17 (25.0) | |
| Rehabilitation facility or another hospital | 2 (2.8) | 11 (6.5) | 24 (35.3) | |
| Skilled nursing facility | 0 (0) | 2 (1.2) | 3 (4.4) | |
Note: ASA = American Society of Anesthesiologists, BMI = body mass index, IQR = interquartile range, SD = standard deviation.
↵* Level of frailty based on Canadian Study of Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale.15
↵† Except where indicated otherwise.
↵‡ Based on χ2 tests of trend using linear regression for continuous variables, score test of trend of odds for binary variables and Wilcoxon-type test of trend for categorical variables.
↵§ Variables identified as potential confounders in the univariable analyses.
The following additional variables, for which data are not shown, were also included in the univariable analyses: current smoking status, vital signs on admission, blood glucose level and white blood cell count on admission, and major surgical complication.