Characteristics, outcomes, and complications among nonagenarian and centenarian patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: Nonagenarians and centenarians are a growing and vulnerable groups of patients admitted to ICU. There is limited information on their characteristics, outcomes, and complications. Methods: We performed a scoping review of studies focused on nonagenarians and centenarians admitted to ICU. We assessed their characteristics, the presence of frailty, the presence of comorbidities, their complications, their ICU and hospital length of stay and mortality and their long-term outcomes. Results: We assessed 36 studies, mostly retrospective, with one classified as a National Quality Registry study and another as a prospective analysis of two large multinational cohorts. The studies involved 16,859 patients with a mean age of 92.4 years and a male prevalence of 39.3%. Multiple comorbidities were present in the majority of patients. Overall, 40.7% of patients received mechanical ventilation, with a median of 36% (range: 0%–100%; IQR: 23.8%–50%). Mean duration of mechanical ventilation was 90.4 h, with a median of 84 h (range: 10–221 h; IQR: 12.25–146.5 h). Cardiovascular and renal complications were common. Mean ICU stay across studies was 5.4 days, with a median of 5 days (range: 0.9–13 days; IQR: 2.55–7.03 days). The median length of hospital stay was 12.4 days (range: 5.7–31 days; IQR: 11–17.6 days). The median hospital mortality was 25.55% (range: 0%–62.5%; IQR: 15%–35.5%). The mean six-month and 1-year mortality rates were 38.6% and 45.6%, respectively. Conclusions: Nonagenarians and centenarians admitted to ICU are a highly comorbid and vulnerable population who experience prolonged hospital stays and complications. However four out of five survive to hospital discharge and half are alive at one year after admission. Therefore, through judicious patient selection, ICU care can be both meaningful and beneficial. Our findings underscore the need for a standardized reporting structure for nonagenarians and centenarians admitted to the ICU to allow comparability across studies, enhanced data quality and reliability, greater research efficiency, and better identification of the unique health needs in this vulnerable patient cohort.