In the developed regions of the world life expectancy is projected to increase and reach on average about 80 years [4]. These older patients are presenting for ATM Kinase Inhibitor surgical evaluation of acute illness in increasing numbers [5]. Acute diseases requiring emergency surgical intervention are more risky than elective procedures given individuals’ age, comorbidities, as well as their acute physiological changes [6]. Many of these elderly patients therefore present unique medical challenges, often with a significant burden of pre-existing illness, poly-pharmacy, frailty, as well as limited social support. Acute surgical services,

designed to address acute problems with rapid diagnosis and turnover, may fail older people who require longer-term support, restorative care and follow-up, even from so-called “minor” surgical procedures. Assessment of function and frailty in the elderly

is gaining popularity learn more as a predictor of outcomes in older patients undergoing surgery [7, 8]. Functional capacity indicates a person’s ability to carry out everyday tasks [9]. It provides a measure of independence, which is of particular concern to seniors’ health related quality of life (HRQOL). Functional capacity takes into account both basic activities of daily living (ADLs) – eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, walking – and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) – shopping, banking, housekeeping [10]. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to perform a comprehensive pre-surgical assessment in the emergency setting. Frail elderly patients are often associated with poorer surgical outcomes and increased morbidity (surgical site infections, end organ dysfunction, MCC-950 anastomosis leakage, and sepsis), post-operative delirium and in-hospital falls [11, 12], however long term age-related health status following acute care surgery (ACS) is unknown. To date there has been limited published reports of post-operative outcomes following ACS in older patients. We conducted a cross sectional study in an older cohort

to provide quantitative data regarding the long-term impact of emergency procedures. We wanted to assess the presence of cognitive impairment; functional status, frailty and health related quality of life in elderly patients who underwent ACS. Methods We retrospectively identified 159 octo- and nonagenarians who underwent emergency surgeries between Inositol monophosphatase 1 2008 and 2010 under a specialized emergency service at a single tertiary center (University of Alberta Hospital’s Acute Care Emergency Surgery (ACES) service, Edmonton, Alberta). The service is unique in that there is a fully functional theatre and team dedicated to emergency general surgery cases exclusively during day time hours, in addition to the emergency after hours. Older patients (≥65) comprise a significant proportion of those admitted to our ACES service with up to one third of these patients being greater than the age of 80 and account for 25% of annual operations.