Perioperative Care of Older Adults Scheduled for Inpatient Surgery

Why it Matters

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.

Guidelines and Advisories: Perioperative Care of Older Adults (CME Course)

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. 

Related Resources

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.