Quality of life in octogenarians after thoracic surgery

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Surgery in octogenarians is performed with acceptable morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the quality of life (QoL) after surgery especially in octogenarians. The goal of this study was to retrospectively examine quality of life in octogenarian patients. METHODS: Patients aged 80 years and older who had thoracic surgery between June 2013 and November 2015 were asked to recall their QoL before surgery and their present QoL by completing the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. A statistical significance between pre- and post-operative scores was set at p RESULTS: 79 patients (40 male and 39 female) with a mean age of 84 years (range 80 to 98) were included in the study. 24 patients (30.4%) had undergone a thoracotomy, and 55 patients (69.6%) minimally invasive procedures. 59 (75%) of the patients were ASA III. The median hospitalization time was 13 days and 30-day mortality was 12/79 (15%). Patients aged 85 and older had a higher 30-day mortality. 30 patients answered the questionnaire. The average time between surgery and receipt of the questionnaire was 8.4 months (SD ±4.8 months). There was no significant difference in overall QoL before and after the surgery (p=0.157). There were significant differences in physical functioning (p=0.000), role functioning (p=0.032), cognitive functioning (p=0.002), fatigue (p=0.009), and appetite (p=0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that QoL after thoracic surgery in octogenarians is comparable to preoperative QoL. Since health in elderly people is the most important factor to maintain a good QoL, denial of surgical treatment due only to advanced age, should no longer be acceptable.