Investigation of General Characteristics, Short and Long-Term Clinical Outcomes of Oldest Old (≥ 85 Years) Intensive Care Unit Survivors Transferred to a Geriatrics Ward.

BACKGROUND/AIM: This study aimed to investigate the general characteristics of the oldest patients followed up in a geriatrics ward after surviving the intensive care unit (ICU) and their hospital and long-term clinical outcomes.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

The study was designed as a retrospective and observational cohort. It included patients aged ≥ 85 who were followed up in the geriatrics ward of our hospital between August 20, 2020, and August 20, 2023, transferred to the geriatrics ward from an ICU (ICU survivors), and met the inclusion criteria. The ICU and ward follow-ups of all patients were examined in detail using the electronic hospital record files, and their final status (discharged or alive) from the hospital was learned by phone interview.

RESULTS

Of the patients included in the study (n = 101), 64.4% were female, and the median age was 88 (85-98) years (median follow-up period 114 [11-822] days). At the end of the follow-up period, 79.20% of the patients had died. After long-term follow-up from ICU hospitalization, the median survival time was 114 days (95% CI: 68-160). When the independent factors associated with death during the follow-up period were examined, ICU Length of Stay (ICU-LOS) (Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.258, p = 0.022), Nutrition Risk Screening-2002 (NRS-2002) score (HR: 2.953, p = 0.004), mobilization status (HR: 5.257, p = 0.027), malignancy (HR: 23.770, p = 0.015), and urinary catheterization (HR: 5.199, p = 0.048) were found to be independent related parameters.

CONCLUSION

This study has shown that critically ill patients of advanced age who survived ICU admission face a high mortality rate and a limited median survival time. Additionally, ICU-LOS, mobilization status, malnutrition risk, malignancy, and urinary catheterization were identified as potential independent predictors of long-term mortality in this population.