Defining surgical risk in octogenarians undergoing paraesophageal hernia repair.

Background: With an aging population, the utility of surgery in elderly patients, particularly octogenarians, is of increasing interest. The goal of this study was to analyze outcomes of octogenarians versus non-octogenarians undergoing paraesophageal hernia repair (PEHR).

Methods: The Nationwide Readmission Database was queried for patients > 18 years old who underwent PEHR from 2016 to 2018. Exclusion criteria included a diagnosis of gastrointestinal malignancy or a concurrent bariatric procedure. Patients ≥ 80 were compared to those 18-79 years old using standard statistical methods, and subgroup analyses of elective and non-elective PEHRs were performed.

Results: From 2016 to 2018, 46,450 patients were identified with 5425 (11.7%) octogenarians and 41,025 (88.3%) non-octogenarians. Octogenarians were more likely to have a non-elective operation (46.3% vs 18.2%, p < 0.001), and those undergoing non-elective PEHR had a higher mortality (5.5% vs 1.2%, p < 0.001). Outcomes were improved with elective PEHR, but octogenarians still had higher mortality (1.3% vs 0.2%, p < 0.001), longer LOS (3[2, 5] vs 2[1, 3] days, p < 0.001), and higher readmission rates within 30 days (11.1% vs 6.5%, p < 0.001) compared to non-octogenarian elective patients. Multivariable logistic regression showed that being an octogenarian was not independently predictive of mortality (odds ratio (OR) 1.373[95% confidence interval 0.962-1.959], p = 0.081), but a non-elective operation was (OR 3.180[2.492-4.057], p < 0.001). Being an octogenarian was a risk factor for readmission within 30 days (OR 1.512[1.348-1.697], p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Octogenarians represented a substantial proportion of patients undergoing PEHR and were more likely to undergo a non-elective operation. Being an octogenarian was not an independent predictor of perioperative mortality, but a non-elective operation was. Octogenarians' morbidity and mortality was reduced in elective procedures but was still higher than non-octogenarians. Elective PEHR in octogenarians is reasonable but should involve a thorough risk-benefit analysis.