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Tachypnea in response to hypoxemia decreases with age in older patients.

Authors :
Cuerpo, Sandra
Aguiló, Sira
Alquézar‐Arbé, Aitor
Fernández, Cesáreo
Burillo, Guillermo
Jacob, Javier
Montero‐Pérez, Francisco Javier
García‐Lamberechts, Eric Jorge
Piñera, Pascual
Blázquez, Beatriz Escudero
de la Iglesia, Cristina Güemes
Quesada, Sílvia Flores
Vaswani‐Bulchand, Aarati
Rodríguez‐Cabrera, Montserrat
Aragüés, Paula Lázaro
Díaz‐Guerra, María Luisa Pérez
González, Francesc Xavier Alemany
Alcaraz, Ana Puche
Collado, Jésica Mansilla
Torres, Gema Jara
Source :
Geriatrics & Gerontology International. Nov2024, Vol. 24 Issue 11, p1120-1129. 10p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Aim: To investigate if tachypneic response to hypoxia is decreased in older patients. Methods: We included all patients ≥65 years of age attending 52 Spanish emergency departments (EDs) for whom peripheral arterial oxygen saturation (SatO2) measured by pulsioxymetry and respiratory rate (RR) were registered at ED arrival. We assessed the relationship between SatO2 and RR in different models, and with the best‐fitting model, we independently analyzed this relationship in four subgroups according to patient age (65–69, 70–79, 80–89, and ≥90 years). Five sensitivity analyses using different subsets of patients were carried out to check for the consistency of the results. Results: We included 7126 patients, with medians for SatO2 and RR of 97% (interquartile range [IQR]: 94–98) and 15 bpm (IQR: 15–16), respectively. We found significant associations (P < 0.001) between SatO2 and RR in every model tested (P < 0.001 for all), with the quadratic model obtaining the best fit (R2: 0.098) over those obtained with linear (R2: 0.096) and logarithmic (R2: 0.092) models. The same was observed in sensitivity analyses, with R2 for quadratic models ranging from 0.069 in patients with low comorbidity and 0.102 in patients breathing room air. The mean RR for 100% SatO2 was 15 bpm and increased as SatO2 decreased, although with a progressive slowing of the slope, with a mean RR of 27 at 50% SatO2. We detected a decreased RR response to increasing hypoxemia according to age and, while the RR curve was higher and with a progressively steepening slope in the 972 patients aged 65–69 (mean RR of 42 bpm with 50% SatO2), a progressive slowing of slope was observed in the 2693 patients aged 70–79 (mean RR of 28 with 50% SatO2), the 2582 aged 80–89 (mean RR of 25) and the 879 aged ≥90 (mean RR of 23). Sensitivity analyses provided very similar results. Conclusion: Tachypneic response to hypoxemia in older patients decreases as age advances, regardless of the reason leading to hypoxemia. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 1120–1129. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
14441586
Volume :
24
Issue :
11
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Geriatrics & Gerontology International
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
180702992
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1111/ggi.14965