Significance of osteopenia in elderly patients undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery

Abstract Aim Frailty assessment in elderly patients is crucial to predict the postoperative course, considering that frailty is highly associated with postoperative complications and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of osteopenia as a risk factor for severe postoperative co...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yasuhiro Takano, Shu Tsukihara, Wataru Kai, Daisuke Ito, Hironori Kanno, Kyonsu Son, Nobuyoshi Hanyu, Ken Eto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-07-01
Series:Annals of Gastroenterological Surgery
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ags3.12558
Description
Summary:Abstract Aim Frailty assessment in elderly patients is crucial to predict the postoperative course, considering that frailty is highly associated with postoperative complications and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of osteopenia as a risk factor for severe postoperative complications in elderly patients who underwent emergency gastrointestinal surgery. Methods This study comprised 103 elderly patients who underwent emergency gastrointestinal surgery. Osteopenia was diagnosed by measuring bone mineral density, which was calculated as the average pixel density in the midvertebral core at the 11th thoracic vertebra on the preoperative plain computed tomography image. We retrospectively investigated the relationship between preoperative osteopenia and severe postoperative complications (Clavien–Dindo classification ≥III). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the risk factors for severe postoperative complications. Results Twenty‐three patients (22.3%) developed severe postoperative complications. The optimal cutoff value of bone mineral density for severe postoperative complications was 119.5 Hounsfield unit (HU) and 39 patients (37.9%) were diagnosed with osteopenia. The univariate analysis revealed that the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status of ≥3 (P = .0084), hemoglobin levels (P = .0026), albumin levels (P < .001), sarcopenia (P = .015), and osteopenia (P < .001) were significantly associated with severe postoperative complications. The multivariate analysis showed that osteopenia (P = .014) was an independent risk factor for severe postoperative complications. Conclusion Osteopenia may be a risk factor for severe postoperative complications in elderly patients after emergency gastrointestinal surgery.
ISSN:2475-0328