Seniors Undergoing High-Risk Emergency General Surgery Have Fewer Healthy Days at Home

FRIDAY, July 17, 2026 (HealthDay News) — In older adults, high-risk emergency general surgery (EGS) is associated with fewer healthy days at home (HDAH), according to a study published online July 15 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Manuel Castillo-Angeles, M.D., M.P.H., from Brigham and Women”s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues performed a retrospective cohort study using 2017 100 percent Medicare fee-for-service claims with one-year look-back and follow-up to examine whether HDAH better reflects patient-centered recovery after EGS. Community-dwelling adults aged 66 years and older who underwent one of seven EGS procedures within 48 hours of urgent/emergent admission were identified and stratified as low- or high-risk. HDAH was calculated from surgery through 365 days.

Overall, 32.95 percent of the 29,828 older adults underwent a high-risk procedure. The researchers observed a lower mean HDAH after high- versus low-risk EGS (307.88 versus 345.30 days). Higher one-year mortality was seen after high-risk procedures (18.10 versus 5.21 percent). Independent associations were seen for fewer HDAH with age, Black race, dementia, having two or more comorbidities, and frailty. After low- versus high-risk procedures, dementia was associated with a greater reduction in HDAH.

“Healthy days at home captures what patients can do after surgery, not just whether they survive,” Castillo-Angeles said in a statement. “It reflects independence, recovery, and quality of life in ways traditional metrics often miss.”

One author disclosed ties to Pfizer.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)