Outcome of octogenarians versus nonoctogenarians admitted to the intensive care unit with return of spontaneous circulation after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest

Introduction

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of octogenarians (O, age >79 years) versus nonoctogenarians (NO, age <80 years) in relation to predicted outcome (APACHE II predicted mortality, AIIPM) and length of stay in the ICU in days (LOS) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Methods

From 1 January 1997 to 1 December 2006, the AIIPM, LOS and hospital mortality were prospectively recorded and the standardised mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated. Patients were categorised in cohorts of AIIPM.

Results

Hospital mortality in the NO group was 58.9%, and in the O group was 75.4% (P = 0.001, chi-square). The LOS ICU was similar in both groups (Table 1; PM, predicted mortality).

Table 1

Conclusion

In octogenarians admitted in the ICU after OHCA, hospital mortality is higher than in the younger group but still an important proportion survives. Non-octogenarians survived more often than predicted by APACHE II. Despite the higher mortality, ICU treatment after out of hospital resuscitation of octogenarians seems worthwhile.