Preparing the older adult for surgery and anesthesia

Life expectancy in the United States has increased significantly over the past 100 years. It has been suggested that by the year 2050, approximately 20% of the population may be over the age of 65. Many of these older adults will undergo surgery and anesthesia. Preadmission testing nurses need to be able to deal with the various challenges that accompany this group of patients. While many of the elderly are quite active, there are others with multiple disease processes that put them at an increased risk over the general population. It will be to the advantage of all involved if health care providers can develop a better understanding and an increased expertise in caring for the geriatric surgical patient. This article describes the importance of the preanesthetic nursing assessment and evaluation in helping to identify potential problems so that a plan of care to prevent those problems can be formulated and communicated to other members of the health care team.