Age Does Not Influence Postoperative Lactate Values in Older Adult Trauma Patients

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Trauma Surgery
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• Lactate monitoring is crucial for identifying high-risk patients, but current interpretations do not account for age.
• The influence of age on postoperative lactate levels in older adults remains under-examined.
• This study investigated age as a potential modifying factor for lactate values in geriatric trauma patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the association between age and postoperative venous lactate (pVL) levels in patients aged 65 and older.
• To examine if age modifies the interpretation of pVL in older adult trauma patients undergoing surgery.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of 284 patients aged ≥65 years undergoing operative intervention.
• Analysis of postoperative venous lactate (pVL) and patient age, both continuously and categorically.
• Stratified analysis by confounders including survival, ICU admission, injury severity, and frailty.

Main Results:

• No significant association was found between age and pVL when examined continuously or categorically (p > 0.05).
• Stratified analyses by ICU admission, injury severity, survival, and frailty also revealed no significant age-pVL association.
• The median age was 80 years, with 37% of patients ≥85 years old; 13% had pVL ≥3 mmol/L.

Conclusions:

• Age is not a significant factor in interpreting postoperative lactate values for older adult trauma patients.
• Current lactate interpretation thresholds appear appropriate for the geriatric trauma population.
• Further research may not be needed to adjust lactate interpretation based on age in this cohort.