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Purpose: Several initiatives have recently focused on raising awareness about limitations of treatment in Poland. We aimed to assess if the propensity to limit LST among elderly patients in 2018-2019 increased compared to 2016-2017., Methods: We analysed Polish cohorts from studies VIP1 (October 2016 - May 2017) and VIP2 (May 2018 - May 2019) that enrolled critical patients aged >80. We collected data on demographics, clinical features limitations of LST. Primary analysis assessed factors associated with prevalence of limitations of LST, A secondary analysis explored differences between patients with and without limitations of LST., Results: 601 patients were enrolled. Prevalence of LST limitations was 16.1% in 2016-2017 and 20.5% in 2018-2019. No difference was found in univariate analysis (p = 0.22), multivariable model showed higher propensity towards limiting LST in the 2018-2019 cohort compared to 2016-2017 cohort (OR 1.07;95%CI, 1.01-1.14). There was higher mortality and a longer length of stay of patients with limitations of LST compared to the patients without limitations of LST. (11 vs. 6 days, p = 0.001)., Conclusions: The clinicians in Poland have become more proactive in limiting LST in critically ill patients ≥80 years old over the studied period, however the prevalence of limitations of LST in Poland remains low., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Elderly patients pose a significant challenge to intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians. In this study we attempted to characterise the population of patients over 80 years old admitted to ICUs in Poland and identify associations between clinical features and short-term outcomes., Material and Methods: The study is a post-hoc analysis of the Polish cohort of the VIP2 European prospective observational study enrolling patients > 80 years old admitted to ICUs over a 6-month period. Data including clinical features, clinical frailty scale (CFS), geriatric scales, interventions within the ICU, and outcomes (30-day and ICU mortality and length of stay) were gathered. Univariate analyses comparing frail (CFS > 4) to non-frail patients and survivors to non-survivors were performed. Multivariable models with CFS, activities of daily living score (ADL), and the cognitive decline questionnaire IQCODE as predictors and ICU or 30-day mortality as outcomes were formed., Results: A total of 371 patients from 27 ICUs were enrolled. Frail patients had significantly higher ICU (58% vs. 44.45%, P = 0.03) and 30-day (65.61% vs. 54.14%, P = 0.01) mortality compared to non-frail counterparts. The survivors had significantly lower SOFA score, CFS, ADL, and IQCODE than non-survivors. In multivariable analysis CFS (OR 1.15, 95% CI: 1.00-1.34) and SOFA score (OR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.19-1.41) were identified as significant predictors for ICU mortality; however, CFS was not a predictor for 30-day mortality ( P = 0.07). No statistical significance was found for ADL, IQCODE, polypharmacy, or comorbidities., Conclusions: We found a positive correlation between CFS and ICU mortality, which might point to the value of assessing the score for every patient admitted to the ICU. The older Polish ICU patients were characterised by higher mortality compared to the other European countries.