You are doing a preoperative assessment on an 87-year-old male who is going to have a lobe resection of the right lung for a diagnosis of cancer
What do you know is the underlying principle that guides the preoperative assessment of an elderly patient?
A) Elderly patients have a smaller lung capacity than do younger patients.
B) Elderly patients have more comorbidities than do younger patients.
C) Elderly patients have less physiologic reserve than do younger patients.
D) Elderly patients have more stamina than do younger patients.
Ans: C
Feedback: The underlying principle that guides the preoperative assessment, surgical care, and postoperative care is that elderly patients have less physiologic reserve (the ability of an organ to return to normal after a disturbance in its equilibrium) than do younger patients. Option A is incorrect; elderly patients do not necessarily have smaller lung capacities than younger patients. Option B is incorrect; even though the statement is true, it is not the underlying principle that guides the preoperative assessment of an elderly patient. Option D is incorrect; elderly patients generally do not have more stamina than do younger patients.
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