LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF CRITICALLY ILL ELDERLY PATIENTS REQUIRING INTENSIVE-CARE

Objective.-To evaluate the long-term mortality and morbidity of critic ally ill elderly patients requiring intensive care. Design.-Prospectiv e comparison of outcome of critically ill patients aged 75 years and o lder with patients aged 65 to 74 years. Patients.-Critically ill patie nts aged 65 years and older who required intensive care and who were r ecruited during a 3-month period. Main Outcome Measures.-Duration of h ospitalization, hospital charges, procedures used in the intensive car e unit, mortality in the hospital and during the follow-up period, and quality of life of survivors during the follow-up period.Results.-Nin ety-seven patients were included in the study; 54 were 75 years or old er and 43 were aged 65 to 74 years. No significant difference was note d between the two groups for length of stay in the hospital, hospital charges, or mortality at 1 year. Severity of illness, as assessed by A cute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation score at the time of int ensive care unit admission, was a better predictor of survival than ag e. Quality of life, as assessed by activities of daily living, perceiv ed quality of life, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression sc ore, were not significantly different in either group at 1, 6, and 12 months after discharge from the hospital. Most patients in both groups described their quality of life as adequate and were willing to recei ve intensive care again, if necessary. Conclusion.-Age alone is not an adequate predictor of long-term survival and quality of life in criti cally ill elderly patients.