Clinical Profile of 100 Elderly Patients Admitted to Critical Care Unit

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: The population of older people (≥60 years) is a growing segment of society, leading to enhanced stress on the global health-care system. Critical care admissions with multiple comorbidities result in prolonged hospital stay and are associated with increased mortality. There is a need to study the profile of older adults admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) so as to know and understand the challenges of delivery of health care in an intensive care setup. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted with the aim to assess the clinicodemographic profile, disease pattern, and clinical outcome in elderly patients admitted to the medical ICU. One hundred elderly people of either gender with medical emergencies admitted during the study period of 6 months were included in the study after obtaining informed consent. Results: The mean age of 100 elderly patients admitted to medical ICU was found to be 70.75 ± 9.22 years. There were 57 males and 43 females. The most common systemic cause of admission to the critical care unit was pertaining to the respiratory system in 45 patients (25.4%) such as exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and cor pulmonale. The mean number of comorbidities in our study subjects was 1.13 ± 1.12. The common comorbidities were hypertension 39 (34.2%) and diabetes mellitus 22 (19.3%). The mortality in patients with >2 comorbidities was found to be 52.5% and with ≤2 comorbidities was found to be 13.4%, the difference being statistically significant (P < 0.001). Thirty-four percent of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation, and the overall mortality rate was found to be 14%. Mortality was significantly higher among males (71.42%). The mean length of ICU stay was 7.24 ± 6.60 days. Length of stay was significantly higher in patients with <2 comorbidities and with the diagnosis of cerebrovascular disorders. Conclusion: Older people admitted to ICUs are more challenging because of preexisting multiple comorbidities and have a significantly higher risk of poor outcomes. Diseases of the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and central nervous system are more common among older people with increased length of ICU stay and higher mortality.