A study published this week on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website examines how a tailored geriatric surgical pathway (GSP) halved the risk of patient complications such as respiratory failure, sepsis and shock, and led to shorter hospital stays.
The researchers, who describe GSPs as an effective method to tailor care to the unique needs of older adults and achieve better surgical outcomes, compared outcomes between two hospitals in the same academic health system — one with a GSP and one without.
Patients at the hospital with a dedicated GSP spent one fewer day in the hospital and faced a 50% lower risk of hospital-reported complications. It examined 3,098 older adults who underwent elective noncardiac surgeries — 24% at the hospital with a GSP and 76% at the hospital without one.
Although slightly higher rates of 30-day readmission were found among the patients who underwent surgeries at the hospital with a GSP, the authors said this may reflect “closer post-discharge follow-up, greater use of telehealth, or readmissions for medical reasons not directly related to the surgery.”
“Our findings show that a dedicated geriatric surgical pathway makes a tangible difference for older patients,” said Sarah M. Jabour, MD, senior author of the study and research resident at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. “While it requires commitment to build these systems, we see patients spending less time in the hospital and facing fewer preventable hospital reported complications … This isn’t just about better numbers — it represents fewer patients experiencing setbacks like pneumonia, which can drastically impact recovery.”
Read the full study here.
