Mortality in elderly ICU patients: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The population is aging. We examined changes in the proportion of elderly (≥ 80 years) intensive care unit (ICU) patients during 2005-2011 and the association between age and mortality controlling for preexisting morbidity. METHODS: Through the Danish National Patient Registry, we identified a cohort of 49,938 ICU admissions (47,596 patients) in Northern Denmark from 2005 to 2011. Patients were subdivided in age groups (15-49, 50-64, 65-79 and ≥ 80 years) and calendar year. We estimated 30-day and 31-365-day mortality and mortality rate ratios (MRRs), stratified by admission type (medical and elective/acute surgical patients). Mortality was compared between age groups adjusting for sex and preexisting morbidity using 50-64-year-olds as reference. RESULTS: The proportion of elderly patients increased from 11.7% of all ICU patients in 2005 to 13.8% in 2011. Among the elderly, the 30-day mortality was 43.7% in medical, 39.6% in acute surgical, and 11.6% in elective surgical ICU patients. The corresponding adjusted 30-day MRRs compared with the 50-64-year-olds were 2.7 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5-3.0] in medical, 2.7 (95% CI 2.4-3.0) in acute surgical, and 5.2 (95% CI 4.1-6.6) in elective surgical ICU patients. The 31-365-day mortality among elderly patients was 25.4% in medical, 26.9% in acute, and 11.9% in elective surgical ICU patients, corresponding to adjusted MRRs of 2.5 (95% CI 2.1-2.9), 2.2 (95% CI 1.9-2.5), and 1.9 (95% CI 1.6-2.3), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: During 2005-2011, there was an 18% increase in the proportion of elderly ICU patients. Advancing age is associated with increased mortality even after controlling for preexisting morbidity.

Impact of bispectral index for monitoring propofol remifentanil anaesthesia. A randomised clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that the use of the bispectral index (BIS) monitor to measure the depth of anaesthesia reduces the amount of anaesthetics administered and the recovery time from general anaesthesia. The effect of BIS on recovery from anaesthesia and consumption of anaesthetics in a paediatric population receiving total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and remifentanil has not been studied. METHODS: A single-blind, single-centre clinical trial. One hundred fifty-seven patients were enrolled. They were scheduled for ear, nose, and throat surgery and stratified according to age groups (1-3 years, 4-11 years, 12-17 years, 18-65 years) and type of operation, yielding a total of nine subgroups. Patients were randomly allocated to receive either a TIVA with propofol and remifentanil according to conventional clinical practice (control) or guided by BIS. Normalised propofol (µg/kg/min) and remifentanil (µg/kg/min) consumption and time to extubation (s) were the outcome measures. RESULTS: Children aged 1-3 years in the BIS group had a longer time to extubation compared with controls (P: 0.04). Patients aged 12-17 years in the BIS group received higher maintenance infusion rates of propofol compared with controls (P = 0.02). No significant difference for the outcome variables was evidenced in the other age groups. CONCLUSION: BIS monitoring for guidance of propofol-remifentanil anaesthesia does not result in reduced consumption of anaesthetics and does not reduce time to extubation in adult and children compared with conventional practice.