Characteristics and prognostic factors of very elderly patients admitted to the intensive care unit

Background Korea is rapidly becoming a super aging society and is facing the increased burden of critical care for the elderly people. Traditionally, far-advanced age has been regarded as a triage criterion for intensive care unit (ICU) admission. We evaluated how the characteristics and prognostic factors of very elderly patients (≥85 years) admitted to the ICU changed over the last decade. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the data of patients admitted to the ICU over 11 years (2007–2017). The clinical characteristics and outcomes of the very elderly-patients group were evaluated. Factors associated with mortality were assessed by a cox regression analysis. Results Comparing the first half (2007–2012) and the second half (2013–2017) of the study period, the proportion of very elderly group increased from 603/47,657 (1.3%), to 697/37,756 (1.8%) (P