OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors of overall postoperative complications in elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgeries. METHODS: This study was conducted among a total of 1388 elderly patients, who underwent elective gastrointestinal surgeries at 17 centers across China between April, 2020 and April, 2022. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative complications within 30 days, including procedure-related, neuropsychiatric, respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal complications as well as acute kidney injury. Baseline characteristics, preoperative psychological and functional status, intraoperative anesthesia and surgical factors, intraoperative medication, use of nerve block, and postoperative analgesia methods were compared between the patients experiencing one or more postoperative complications and those without complications. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the independent risk factors for postoperative complications. The relationship between postoperative acute pain and each type of complication were explored. RESULTS: The incidence of overall postoperative complications was 50.8% (705/1388) in these patients. Multivariate analysis showed that age (OR: 1.026; 95% CI: 1.006-1.046), prognostic nutritional index (OR: 0.998; 95% CI: 0.997-1.000), preoperative EuroQol-5 dimensions score (OR: 0.094; 95% CI: 0.018-0.500), blood loss (OR: 1.002; 95% CI: 1.001-1.003), and acute postoperative pain (OR: 1.308; 95% CI: 1.033-1.657) were significantly associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications. Specifically, patients experiencing severe postoperative pain had a significantly higher incidence of neuropsychiatric (27.2% vs 19.8%), procedure-related (17.3% vs 10.2%), and cardiovascular complications (3.6% vs 1.7%). CONCLUSIONS An advanced age, a low preoperative nutritional index, a poor quality of life score, a greater volume of intraoperative blood loss, and acute postoperative pain are independent risk factors for postoperative complications in elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgeries. There is a significant association between acute postoperative pain and multi-system complications.
Humans ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Digestive System Surgical Procedures/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; China/epidemiology* ; Pain, Postoperative/epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Aged, 80 and over

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of sevoflurane in preventing depression-like behavior in mice and the relationship with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) signaling pathway.Methods Forty-four clean-grade male C57BL/6 mice,weighing 18-22 g,aged 8-10 weeks,were divided into 2 groups (n =22 each) using a random number table method:control group (group C) and sevoflurane group (group S).Mice in group C inhaled oxygen for 30 min,and mice in group S inhaled 2.5％ sevoflurane for 30 min.The forced swimming test and novelty-suppressed feeding test were performed after the mice were fully awake.The brains were immediately removed under anesthesia at the end of inhalation of oxygen or sevoflurane,and the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were isolated for detection of the expression of BDNF,TrkB and phosphorylated TrkB (p-TrkB) by Western blot.Results Compared to group C,the immobility time and feeding latency were significantly shortened,the expression of p-TrkB in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus was up-regulated (P＜0.05),and no significant change was found in the feeding consumption or expression of BDNF and TrkB in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in group S (P＞0.05).Conclusion Sevoflurane produces a preventive effect on depression-like behavior in mice,and the mechanism is related to increased phosphorylation of TrkB in BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway.