Thoracic surgery in the elderly: areas of future research and studies.

Elderly patients (defined as those aged more than 75 years) require specialized care due to the problems associated with deteriorating organ function, minimal organ reserve, blunted responses to stress, and general overall frailty; however, careful, well-planned trials for elderly patients undergoing thoracic surgical procedures have been few, sporadic, and nebulous to date. With the help of the Council on Surgical and Related Medical Specialties of the American Geriatrics Society, a thorough review of the body of literature has been conducted and a research agenda has been defined. Important surgical issues remain to be defined and investigated.