Analyzing racial and ethnic disparities among geriatric patients undergoing elective versus emergent colorectal procedures: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) analysis

Objective: Non-elective colorectal surgeries are associated with an increased risk of complications compared to elective procedures, which is accentuated amongst geriatric patients. This study examines racial/ethnic disparities in rates of elective versus non-elective colorectal procedures among geriatric patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included data from patients aged ≥65 registered in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined associations between race/ethnicity and elective versus non-elective surgical status. Results: Among 79,497 patients included, 24,544 (30.9 ​%) received non-elective colorectal surgery. 81.1 ​% of patients were White, 8.93 ​% were Black, 5.3 ​% were Hispanic, 4.1 ​% were Asian, and 0.6 ​% were NAPI. Multivariate analysis revealed higher odds ratios for receiving non-elective surgery amongst Black and Hispanic patients (Black ​= ​1.38, 95 ​% CI 1.30–1.47, p ​< ​0.01; Hispanic ​= ​1.54, 95 ​% CI 1.43–1.67, p ​< ​0.01). Conclusions: Black and Hispanic geriatric patients were more likely to receive non-elective procedures.