Prognosis of non-severely comorbid elderly patients admitted to emergency departments: A prospective study

The ageing of the population leads to a rising demand for urgent care among elderly patients, namely patients>75  years [1]. Visits to emergency department (ED) for elderly patients increased by 34% during a ten years period (1993–2003) and this trend is growing [1]. In a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of 120,123 patients, the absolute number and the proportion of patients aged over 80 years admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) significantly increased annually during the 6-year study period and those with comorbid illnesses had lower ICU and hospital survival [2].
Source: The American Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Source Type: research