Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 64(6); 2008 > Article
Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2008;64(6):445-450.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2008.64.6.445    Published online June 1, 2008.
Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Elderly Patients Receiving Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at a University Hospital.
Min Soo Han, Kyoung Min Moon, Yang Deok Lee, Yongseon Cho, Dong Jib Na
Department of Internal Medicine, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea. hms43@eulji.ac.kr
Abstract
BACKGROUND
As the number of older-aged people increases, the number of elderly patients who receive critical care services is expected to increase substantially. The objective of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics and outcomes of elderly patients who receive mechanical ventilation for more than 30 days in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) at a university hospital. METHODS: We retrospectively examined forty-one elderly patients (> or =65 years old) who were receiving mechanical ventilation, from April 2004 to March 2007, for periods exceeding 30 days at the MICU at Eulji University Hospital. RESULTS: The MICU and hospitalmortality rate were 60.9% and 65.9%, respectively. The mean length of the ICU stay was 57.5 days and the mean duration of mechanical ventilation was 49.3 days. The most common reason for MICU admission was acute respiratory failure (73.2%), followed by sepsis (12.2%), neurological problems (9.8%), and gastrointestinal bleeding (4.9%). The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores were higher for the nonsurvivors than for the survivors (28.0 vs. 25.0, respectively, p=0.03). The nonsurvivors received more red blood cell (RBC) transfusions during their ICU stay than did the survivors (84.0% vs. 43.8%, respectively p=0.007). The factors associated with hospital death were the APACHE II score and if the patient had received a RBC transfusion. CONCLUSION: The APACHE II score and a RBC transfusion were predictors of increased hospital mortality for the elderly patients who were on prolonged mechanical ventilation. These predictors may assist physicians to make clinical decisions for this patient population.
Key Words: Mechanical ventilation, Elderly, Intensive care unit


ABOUT
ARTICLE & TOPICS
Article category

Browse all articles >

Topics

Browse all articles >

BROWSE ARTICLES
FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Editorial Office
101-605, 58, Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu (Seocho-dong, Seocho Art-Xi), Seoul 06652, Korea
Tel: +82-2-575-3825, +82-2-576-5347    Fax: +82-2-572-6683    E-mail: katrdsubmit@lungkorea.org                

Copyright © 2024 by The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases. All rights reserved.

Developed in M2PI

Close layer
prev next