The validity of the VA surgical risk tool in predicting postoperative mortality among octogenarians.

Background: To examine the validity of Veterans Affair-VA risk assessment tool in predicting the perioperative and overall mortality among octogenarians.

Methods: This is a single-institution retrospective observational study, in which the clinical information of 1,618 octogenarians were extracted from the VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. VA risk assessment tool and ASA classification were used to predict the probability of postoperative mortality and morbidity.