Reduced 90-day postoperative mortality through geriatric comanagement after cancer surgery.

Abstract

11512 Background: We explored the association between geriatric comanagement and 90-day postoperative mortality of cancer patients aged 75 or older. Methods: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database was performed on patients over 75 years old who underwent elective surgery with hospital length of stay of ≥1 day at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from 2015-2018. Geriatric comanagement group (GCG) patients had geriatric preoperative evaluation and inpatient geriatric comanagement. Patients in the surgical management group (SMG) did not have geriatric preoperative evaluation or postoperative geriatric comanagement. We utilized a multivariable logistic regression model with 90-day mortality as the outcome, geriatric co-management as the predictor, and adjusted for age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiology score, Memorial Sloan Kettering Frailty Index, preoperative albumin level, operation time, and estimated blood loss. The same logistic model was used to assess the association between adverse surgical events within 30-days (any major complication, readmission, or urgent care center visit) and geriatric comanagement. Results: Of 1,855 patients (median age 80), 1,009 patients (54%) were co-managed by geriatricians. GCG patients were slightly older, less likely to be male, had longer operation time, and stayed in the hospital longer. Adjusted rates of 90-day mortality was lower in GCG vs. SMG (4.3% and 9.2%, respectively; 95% CI around difference -7.3%, -2.5%; p-value < 0.0001). We did not find evidence of a difference in adverse surgical events between groups (OR 0.96, p-value = 0.8). A greater proportion of GCG patients received inpatient physical therapy (80% vs. 64%) and occupational therapy (37% vs. 25%) compared to SMG patients. Conclusions: Our study shows that geriatric comanagement is associated with reduced 90-day postoperative mortality in cancer patients aged ≥75. A randomized trial study is needed to confirm this finding.