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BackgroundIn recent years, there is an increase in the proportion of the elderly population in the world. With an increase in patients' age, there is a change in the comorbidities and causes for Intensive care unit (ICU) admissions. More studies are needed to redefine healthcare delivery to elderly patients admitted to ICU. AimsThe aims are to assess the disease pattern and outcome in elderly patients admitted to the Medical ICU and to determine factors affecting the outcomes in elderly patients admitted to the Medical ICU. MethodsThis was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in the Medical ICU of a tertiary care hospital for six months. Patients who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this study. Data collected from medical records were statistically analysed. ResultsOut of 859 newly admitted patients to the Medical ICU, 196 (22.81%) were elderly patients (age > 60 years). The mean age of elderly patients was 69.8 ± 7.65 years. The mortality rate in elderly patients aged > 60 years was 36.70%, which was higher when compared to 23.60% in patients aged ≤ 60 years, and the correlation was statistically significant (p<0.0001). Neurological disorders (42.8%) were the most common cause of admissions, followed by renal disorders (13.26%), respiratory diseases (9.7%), and infections (9.18%). Deaths due to neurological disorders were most common (43.66%) followed by renal disorders (14.08%), infections (11.26%), and respiratory diseases (7%). The mean number of comorbidities in elderly patients was 1.99 ± 1.21. The mortality rate in elderly patients with more than three comorbidities was 56.52%, which was higher when compared to 33.52% in elderly patients with comorbidities ≤3, and the correlation was statistically insignificant (p=0.1275). The mean length of ICU stay in elderly patients was 9.14 ± 6.73 days. The length of stay in ICU was prolonged in patients with more number of comorbidities, which was statistically significant (p<0.0001). The mortality rate was higher in patients with prolonged length of stay, and the correlation was statistically significant (p=0.0013). ConclusionThe insight over the proportion of older patients admitted to the ICU will enable policy-makers to plan accordingly. Mortality in elderly patients was high. Hence there is a need to redefine healthcare delivery to elderly patients in terms of triage and level of care in ICU. For better outcomes, risk categorisation can be done based on the number of comorbidities for optimal care. Exclusive geriatric intensive care units were needed for better care of elderly patients.

The first case of SARS-CoV2 admitted on 26th December 2019 in Central Hospital, Wuhan, China. Broncho-alveolar lavage and Polymerase chain reaction of the aspirate showed high abundance of a viral RNA which has 89.1 % nucleotide identity with bat coronavirus previously isolated in China. Soon human to human transmission was observed and the outbreak started spreading. World Health Organisation on 11th March 2020 declared it as pandemic. COVID 19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, a disease we are still struggling to contain. With vaccination drive throughout the world, though the severity in re-infection has come down, but there is still threat by the various variants which are arising from time to time in various countries. The most effective way of preventing the spread of the virus is to keep physical distance from others of at least 1 meter, wearing a well fitted mask, keep hands clean and use hand sanitizer frequently, stay in well ventilated place, avoid crowded place and cough into bent elbow or tissue paper and get vaccinated when once’s turn comes. Therefore, we urge people to follow COVID appropriate behaviour properly. Keywords: COVID 19, SARS-CoV2, COVID appropriate behaviour, Social Distancing