Preoperative anesthetic evaluation and clinical decision making

In the past decade alone, the portion of the US population aged 65 and over has grown to over 40 million people, representing a 15.1 % increase from 2000 to 2010, and comprising 13 % of the total population. In contrast, the portions of the population under age 18 and age 18-45 increased by only 2.6 % and 0.6 %, respectively. Given that half of all surgical procedures are performed in patients aged 65 years or older, healthcare providers involved in the perioperative treatment of patients must be familiar with the issues and concerns particular to geriatric patients. Patients undergoing urologic procedures tend to be older and have an array of complex comorbidities. This chapter will review key issues in the preoperative evaluation of older adults undergoing urologic surgical procedures.