Surgical intensive care in the nonagenarian. No basis for age discrimination.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of extreme age on outcome from surgical intensive care.


METHODS
Prospective data collection.


METHODS
A 20-bed noncardiac surgical intensive care unit (SICU) that admits 2200 patients per year from a 1201-bed tertiary medical center.


METHODS
Nonagenarians were compared with patients under 90 years of age over a 33-month period. Seven patients over age 100 years and 77 nonsurgical patients were excluded.


METHODS
Mortality and length of stay were determined for both the SICU and the entire hospitalization. The nonagenarian and younger groups were stratified by severity of illness using the first-day Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS).


RESULTS
One hundred forty nonagenarian patients (mean +/- SE age, 92.1 +/- 0.2 years) were compared with 5652 younger patients (mean age, 60.1 +/- 0.3 years). The mean SAPS of 11.1 for nonagenarian patients was significantly higher than the SAPS of 8.6 for younger patients (P < .001). Mortality in the SICU was 4.3% for nonagenarian patients vs 2.3% for younger patients (P = .13). SICU mortality rose with increasing SAPS in both groups, but there was no significant difference between nonagenarian and younger patients for any SAPS group. Hospital mortality differed significantly, with 17.1% for nonagenarian patients and 5.3% for younger patients (P < .001). Hospital and SICU length of stay did not differ significantly between the groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Nonagenarians do not differ from younger SICU patients in survival from SICU care, although hospital mortality is greater in nonagenarians. Age alone should not be used to make decisions about the utility of SICU care for the elderly. Outcome correlates better with severity of illness, and the measure is valid in young and old alike.
Margulies
D R
DR
Department of Surgery, Cedars-Sinai Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA.
Lekawa
M E
ME
Bjerke
H S
HS
Hiatt
J R
JR
Shabot
M M
MM
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002140:California; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome