Guttman MP, Tillmann BW, Nathens AB, et al. - Researchers here examined if and how emergency general surgery (EGS) admission is related with the probability of an older adult being alive and residing in their own home 5 years later. In addition, they determined the extent to which specific EGS diagnoses, need for surgery, and frailty affected this relationship. In this population-based, retrospective cohort study, they assessed 90,245 community-dwelling older adults (age, ≥ 65 years) who were admitted to hospital for one of eight EGS diagnoses (appendicitis, cholecystitis, diverticulitis, strangulated hernia, bowel obstruction, peptic ulcer disease, intestinal ischemia, or perforated viscus). These cases were matched to controls from the general population. Findings suggested a higher risk for death or admission to a nursing home among older adults who required hospitalization for an EGS diagnosis compared with controls; the higher risk remained for at least 5 years following admission. However, at the end of this 5-year period, most patients (57%) remained alive and were living in their own home.