Perioperative Care of Older Adults Scheduled for Inpatient Surgery Practice Advisory (New! published January 2025).
This advisory provides evidence-based recommendations on the management of older adults undergoing inpatient surgery. The advisory focuses on aspects of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative care of specific relevance to older adults.
This advisory is crucial due to the rapidly growing population of older adults undergoing surgery, who are at increased risk for adverse outcomes. Prioritizing their care is essential because age-related changes, comorbidities, cognitive decline, and frailty contribute to postoperative complications and loss of independence. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach that includes enhanced preoperative assessment, tailored anesthetic techniques, and consideration of medications, emphasizing the importance of working not only with patients, but also with their families to ensure the best possible outcomes and preserve their independence.
To support implementation of the guidance provided in the advisory, ASA has developed a CME-certified educational series in which experts break down each recommendation and discuss practical implementation strategies based on unique practice settings. Learners will engage with case scenarios and apply the advisory’s recommendations to these scenarios and to their own clinical practice.
ASA has developed a comprehensive collection of related courses, tools, and resources to further support anesthesiologists in providing optimal, evidence-based care for older adults. These offerings complement the practice advisory by addressing key topics such as frailty screening, delirium prevention, brain health, and diagnostic excellence — all critical areas in the perioperative care of this growing patient population.
Delirium in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (CME, ABA Patient Safety Credits available)
Delirium and the Role of an Anesthesiologist (CME available)
Strategies to Improve Brain Health in the Older Adult (CME available)
Perioperative Diagnostic Excellence in the Older Adult: An Educational Initiative (CME, ABA Quality Improvement Points available)
Guidelines and Advisories: Perioperative Care of Older Adults (CME, ABA Quality Improvement Points available)
Safeguarding Care for the Older Adult: Key Takeaways from the 2025 ASA Practice Advisory
Recommendations May Help Reduce Delirium in Older Patients Having Surgery
Six Tips to Reduce Confusion in Older Patients After Surgery
Surgery, Anesthesia Not Linked to Long-Term Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults
Last updated by: Department of Quality and Practice Guidelines
Date of last update: June 3, 2025