[Epidural anesthesia and spinal anesthesia in the elderly].

Epidural anesthesia and spinal anesthesia are very popular anesthetic techniques used for surgery in elderly patients. Aging i s associated withanatomical changes and a loss of functional reserve in all organ systems. These neuraxial blocks affect physiological function to some extent. However, previous studies have demonstrated only a slight effect of age on the anesthetic levels as well as the reduction in functions with these blocks. In elderly patients, both anesthetic techniques have been shown to decrease intraoperative blood loss, perioperative cardiac ischemic events, post-operative hypoxic episodes and arterial and venous thrombosis, and so forth.