Understanding the issues experienced by older people undergoing emergency surgery
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Understanding the issues experienced by older people undergoing emergency surgery

Angeline Price Advanced clinical practitioner, Ageing and Complex Medicine Department, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, England
Katrina Cookson Colorectal triage specialist nurse, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To increase your awareness of the complications experienced by older people undergoing emergency surgery

  • To learn about strategies for managing post-surgical challenges in older people

  • To remind yourself of optimal discharge planning for older people post-surgery

The number of older people undergoing surgery in the UK is increasing, partly due to an ageing population and advances in surgical techniques. However, outcomes for older patients who have undergone surgery are suboptimal when compared with younger people, especially following emergency surgery. To minimise the risk of adverse events affecting older people following surgery, it is essential that nurses understand how to manage common challenges for this patient group such as delirium, pain, reduced mobility and inadequate hydration.

Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2021.e1329

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@angeline_price

Correspondence

angeline.price@srft.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Price A, Cookson K (2021) Understanding the issues experienced by older people undergoing emergency surgery. Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2021.e1329

Published online: 23 June 2021

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