Characteristics and Prognostic Factors of Elderly Patients in Intensive Care Unit
Abstract
Introduction: the elderly often have high prevalence of chronic diseases and less organic reserves and, to determine increased demand for intensive care unit (ICU) beds, easily evolve to a critical state, resulting in a greater cost when admitted to these units. Objective: describing the characteristics and prognostic factors of elderly in the ICU of a public hospital in the city of João Pessoa-PB. Methods: a cohort study with retrospective collection involving elderly aged ≥ 60 years old, and used SPSS software, Pearson's chi-square and the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests. Results: there were evaluated 72 elderly with an average age of 73.39 years old and average length of stay in the unit of 8.65 days. The overall mortality of the elderly was of 40.3%. From the elderly admitted to postoperative most showed discharge for improvement. The postoperative period was the first cause of hospitalization and acute respiratory failure the second, being the major responsible for unfavorable outcomes in individuals investigated. Conclusion: the reason for admission and the existence of chronic diseases may be associated with higher mortality in elderly hospitalized in intensive care unit. Thus, a better understanding of the factors related to prognosis of critically ill elderly can direct care strategies for this clientele in this hospital sector.
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