title: [Characteristics and prognosis of patients with very long stay in an Intensive Care Unit].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the characteristics and prognostic factors of elderly patients hospitalized for > or = 30 days in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected simple data over 6 consecutive years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Polyvalent ICU of the Insular University Hospital in the Canary Islands (Spain).
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult patients > or = 70 years who were hospitalized in the ICU for a period of 30 or more days.
  
  
  METHODS
  Demographic data, clinical diagnosis on ICU admission, Apache II, days of renal replacement therapy (RRT), days of mechanical ventilation and the outcome of the survivors one year later were collected. Mortality at one year of the surviving patients was studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the study period, 3,786 patients were admitted to the ICU. Of these, 853 (22.5%) patients were > or = 70 years old and only 42 (4.92%) of these patients remained in the ICU for > or = 30 days. We compared the latter with the > or = 70 year old patients whose stay in the ICU stay was < 30 days. No statistically significant differences in ICU mortality, Apache II, age, gender and the need for RRT were found. As independent variables associated with the long stay, the multivariate analysis showed only the days of mechanical ventilation (p < 0.05). The surviving patients (> or = 70 years old and whose stay in the ICU was > or = 30 days) were older and 21 (65.62%) were still alive one year later.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ICU mortality rates in elderly patients with a stay < or > or = 30 days in the ICU were comparable. Survival at one year of the > or = 70 year-old patients whose long-term intensive care unit stay was > or = 30 days was high. These results are sufficient in our unit to justify prolonged ICU care for elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Intensiva, Hospital Universitario Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España. lsancabx@gobiernodecanarias.org
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santana Cabrera
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Palacios
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hernández Medina
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eugenio Robaina
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villanueva-Hernández
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003422:Critical Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate