What’s age got to do with it?
Sunday’s panel discussion will explore why age is just one factor when considering treatment recommendations for older patients with complex urologic conditions.
From 2020 to 2050, the number of people 80 and older is expected to triple, reaching 426 million worldwide. “As the population is aging, we can expect to see more older patients with complex issues related to urinary incontinence and bladder health,” said Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, FACS, URPS, chief of neurourology, female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, and associate professor of urology, obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California in San Francisco.
How should a patient’s age factor into their treatment plan? Dr. Suskind will be part of a panel discussion, "Old But Still Active … Very Wet 85F With Stress Urinary Incontinence, Urge Urinary Incontinence, Incomplete Bladder Emptying, Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections, Clean Intermittent Catheterization and Botox," during the afternoon plenary today in the Stars at Night Ballroom. Joining her will be Elodi Dielubanza, MD, assistant professor of clinical urology at Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and Paholo Baroglio Romo, MD, MPH, assistant professor of urology at the University of Michigan Urology Center in Ann Arbor.
From left: Elodi Dielubanza, MD; Victor Nitti, MD; Paholo Baroglio Romo,MD, MPH
As moderator, Victor Nitti, MD, professor of urology and obstetrics and gynecology, and chief of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, will ask panelists how they would manage this hypothetical, relatively healthy 85-year-old female patient with a multitude of urological issues. How would you approach the patient? Which condition would you treat first? How do these various urinary conditions influence one another? And generally, what does age change about a patient’s treatment?
“Historically, if someone was in their 80s with complex issues related to urinary incontinence, they might not be offered invasive treatments, even if those treatments are the most curative,” Dr. Suskind said. “But age is heterogeneous. It’s important to consider each patient as a whole, incorporating functional status, frailty and their treatment goals for shared decision-making, to provide a personalized approach to treatment. If older patients are relatively healthy and highly functioning, you should offer treatment that is the most appropriate for them and not rule anything out based on their age alone.”
