Stanislaus Argeny1, Anton Stift2, Martina Mittlböck3, Amy C Lord4, Svenja Maschke1, Mathias Schneeweiß1, Stefan Riss1. 1. Medical University of Vienna, Department of Surgery, Austria. 2. Medical University of Vienna, Department of Surgery, Austria. Electronic address: anton.stift@meduniwien.ac.at. 3. Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics, and Intelligent Systems, Austria. 4. Royal Bournemouth Hospital, United Kingdom.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Due to a lack of data, the present study was designed to assess the impact of advanced age on surgical characteristics and short-term outcome of patients operated on for symptomatic Crohn's disease. METHODS: We enrolled 454 consecutive Crohn's disease patients, who underwent intestinal resection at an academic tertiary referral center between 1997 and 2012. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to their age (group I: <30 years, group II: 30-50 years, group III: >50 years) and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Altogether, 152 (33.5%) patients were included in group I, 234 (51.5%) in group II and 68 (15.0%) in group III. Abscess formation and penetrating disease were significantly more common in younger patients (p = 0.0014 and p = 0.0182). The number of intestinal resections was higher in older patients (p < 0.0001), whereas the laparoscopic approach was more frequently observed in younger adults (p = 0.0006). Group II (n = 58 (24.8%)) and group III (n = 15 (22.1%)) showed significantly more complications compared to group I (n = 20 (13.2%)) (p = 0.0346). Notably, major complications and anastomotic leaks were significantly higher in older patients (p = 0.0004). CONCLUSION: Crohn's disease patients of advanced age show different surgical characteristics compared to younger patients and are at an increased risk of developing postoperative complications.
PURPOSE: Due to a lack of data, the present study was designed to assess the impact of advanced age on surgical characteristics and short-term outcome of patients operated on for symptomatic Crohn's disease. METHODS: We enrolled 454 consecutive Crohn's diseasepatients, who underwent intestinal resection at an academic tertiary referral center between 1997 and 2012. Patients were divided into 3 groups according to their age (group I: <30 years, group II: 30-50 years, group III: >50 years) and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: Altogether, 152 (33.5%) patients were included in group I, 234 (51.5%) in group II and 68 (15.0%) in group III. Abscess formation and penetrating disease were significantly more common in younger patients (p = 0.0014 and p = 0.0182). The number of intestinal resections was higher in older patients (p < 0.0001), whereas the laparoscopic approach was more frequently observed in younger adults (p = 0.0006). Group II (n = 58 (24.8%)) and group III (n = 15 (22.1%)) showed significantly more complications compared to group I (n = 20 (13.2%)) (p = 0.0346). Notably, major complications and anastomotic leaks were significantly higher in older patients (p = 0.0004). CONCLUSION:Crohn's diseasepatients of advanced age show different surgical characteristics compared to younger patients and are at an increased risk of developing postoperative complications.