Long-term outcomes of major abdominal surgery and postoperative delirium after multimodal prehabilitation of older patients

Purpose: The long-term outcomes of surgery followed by delirium after multimodal prehabilitation program are largely unknown. We conducted this study to assess the effects of prehabilitation on 1-year mortality and of postoperative delirium on 1-year mortality and functional outcomes. Methods: The subjects of this study were patients aged ≥ 70 years who underwent elective surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) or colorectal cancer (CRC) between January 2013, and June 2018. A prehabilitation program was implemented in November 2015, which aimed to optimize physical health, nutritional status, factors of frailty and preoperative anemia prior to surgery. The outcomes were assessed as mortality after 6 and 12 months, compared between the two treatment groups; and mortality and functional outcomes, compared between patients with and those without delirium. Results: There were 627 patients (controls N = 360, prehabilitation N = 267) included in this study. Prehabilitation did not reduce mortality after 1 year (HR 1.31 [95% CI 0.75–2.30]; p = 0.34). Delirium was significantly associated with 1-year mortality (HR 4.36 [95% CI 2.45–7.75]; p < 0.001) and with worse functional outcomes after 6 and 12 months (KATZ ADL p = 0.013 and p = 0.004; TUG test p = 0.041 and p = 0.011, respectively). Conclusions: The prehabilitation program did not reduce 1-year mortality. Delirium and the burden of comorbidity are both independently associated with an increased risk of 1-year mortality and delirium is associated with worse functional outcomes. Trial registration: Dutch Trial Registration, NTR5932. https://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=5932.

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