Validity of Aspiration Prevention Surgery in Elderly Patients with Cerebrovascular or Neurodegenerative Disorders.

The risk of aspiration pneumonia has been reported to increase with age, especially in frail elderly patients with cerebrovascular and/or neurodegenerative disorders. To prevent this type of pneumonia, aspiration prevention surgery (APS) procedures have been demonstrated to be effective. However, the comprehensive efficacy of APS, not only in terms of survival rates, but also in terms of medical costs and caregiver burden, has not been fully evaluated in elderly patients requiring aspiration care. Thus, the aim of the current study was to demonstrate the validity of APS in elderly patients with cerebrovascular or neurodegenerative disorders. A total of 135 patients were enrolled; 82 with cerebrovascular disorders and 53 with neurodegenerative disorders, in whom APS was applied to 52 and 36 patients, respectively. The 2-year survival rates, medical costs, and number of suctioning procedures as a measure of caregiver burden were investigated in patients treated with APS (the APS group) and those without APS (the non-APS group). The 2-year survival rates for all patients were 53.4% in the APS group and 4.3% in the non-APS group. This result showed significantly better outcomes in the APS group. Moreover, in the APS group, the postoperative suction frequency showed a significant decrease compared to the preoperative suction frequency. Finally, medical costs were significantly lower in the APS group compared to the non-APS group. The results of this study demonstrate that APS contributed to improved survival rates, reduced medical costs, and a decrease in suctioning frequency in elderly patients with cerebrovascular or neurodegenerative diseases.