Time is flying and never stops, therefore we are now facing the bigger patient group, the ageing population. The better healthcare technology together with better care management make our people live longer, and they are presenting themselves to us later in their lives. The anaesthetics for this group of patient requires some concerns such as:
1. Underlying diseases: the aged are more likely to have more problems than the younger counterparts, it is the thing that cannot be avoidable since the organ functions are declining since the age is more than 30. We should evaluate every organ system, so that we can make a further plan what we should proceed later. The more problems they have, the more prescriptions for them are increasing, and increase the risk of drug interactions.
2. Declining organ function : the metabolism and excretion of the drug given are more likely to have more effects, since the GFR is lower when the age is going up and up. Postoperative cognitive dysfunction should be evaluated in the perioperative period.
3. The skin is more likely to lose its temperature control, the longer operative time means that they would have a lower core temperature, therefore, temperature monitoring and interventions needed to control the worse outcome should be implemented.
It seems that we are doing the same things to the ageing patients like what we would do to the neonates and paediatric patients.
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