INFLUENCE OF AGE ON OUTCOME OF MECHANICALLY VENTILATED PATIENTS IN AN INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT

Objective: To assess the influence of age on the outcome of patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Intensive care unit. Patients: A total of 1,141 patients in our ICU during a 32-month period. A total of 536 patients required mechanical ventilation. After exclusion of 171 patients ventilated for <24 hrs after surgery, 365 patients were investigated. Measurements and Main Results: Two hundred sixty-six (73%) patients were aged <70 yrs; 99 (27%) patients were greater-than-or-equal-to 70 yrs. There was no significant difference in mortality rate between the younger and the older age groups. There was no significant influence of other important factors, such as severity of illness, duration of mechanical ventilation, or length of ICU stay. The only factor showing a significant influence on patient outcome was the reason for mechanical ventilation. There were more survivors in the group being ventilated because of ventilatory insufficiency than in the group with oxygenation impairment (57.8% vs. 23.9%, p < .001). Conclusion: An influence of age on the outcome of mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU could not be ascertained in this study.