[Is advanced age by itself a risk factor in large abdominal surgical interventions]

A logistic regression analysis was performed retrospectively in 237 patients over 70 years of age (group 1) who underwent surgery for diseases of the biliary tract, stomach, and colon and rectum. The data were compared with those of 273 patients with identical operations under the age of 60 years (group 2). The results of our analysis differed according to the cohort of patients. Age was shown to be a significant risk factor for perioperative mortality according to the analysis of young and old patients (group 1 and 2). Analysis of group 1 showed that the urgency of the operation and the sum of coexisting morbidities were significant. The combination of age and urgency is a significant risk factor following colorectal but not gastric and biliary surgery.