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Biomedical subjects

Laurie W Shroyer

Publications and source records attributed to Laurie W Shroyer.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Biological age--a concept whose time has come: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: Chronology poorly predicts biological age (BA) or physiologic reserve (PR). An objective approach to the heterogeneity of aging would greatly help clinical decision making in the elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The first pilot study evaluated 130 "healthy" volunteers, ages 70 to 95 years. A summary BA/PR index was developed, using measures of endurance, strength, flexibility, balance, cognition, depression, comorbidity, and exercise. The second study applied the BA/PR concept to prediction of death after a first elective coronary artery bypass graft, using a Veterans Administration database. RESULTS: The BA/PR index was a better predictor of 3-year functional outcomes and death than was chronological age. In the coronary artery bypass graft study, the inclusion of BA/PR variables significantly improved prediction of 6-month and long-term death for Veterans Administration patients. CONCLUSIONS: The usefulness of a biological age (BA/PR) approach in predicting outcomes in the elderly was supported. Needed research should develop tools for routine "tracking" of the aging process.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2002

Quality improvement in cardiac care.

Quality improvement in cardiac care has made considerable progress over the past 30 years. During that period, there has been the development of multi-institutional databases to monitor outcomes following cardiothoracic surgery. These databases initially began using only volume and unadjusted operative (30-day) mortality as outcome criteria. There has been a progressive increase in their sophistication, with the building of risk models based on preoperative variables, which accurately predict the risk of adverse outcomes. Other outcomes have been added including risk-adjusted mortality and morbidity; efficiency outcomes such as length of stay, quality of life, functional health status, neuropsychological outcomes; and long-term outcomes.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗