Perfil de idosos admitidos em unidades de terapia intensiva gerais em Rio Grande, RS: resultados de um estudo de demanda

Abstract

At the end of the first quarter of this century, Brazil will have the sixth largest population for people aged 60 years or more worldwide. This will increase the demands on health services for this sector. This study aimed at assessing the profile of patients in this age group who were admitted to intensive care units (ICU) in the city of Rio Grande, Southern Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was carried out between April/2007 and March/2008 in the two local hospitals. Family members answered a standardized questionnaire that collected data about demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, household conditions, use of health services and current clinical conditions. Among the 213 elderly people included in this study, 90% came from Rio Grande, were married, aged 70 years or more, had at least five years of schooling, earned two or more minimum wages, were owners of their house and did not have private health insurance; 88% had a medical appointment in the previous six months and 56% were admitted to a hospital in the previous 12 months; half of them were unconscious when they were admitted in the ICU; three quarters of them needed mechanical ventilation and 45% died within the first eight days after hospital admission. This study identified some socioeconomic and environmental characteristics and health care needed by elderly people admitted to the ICU. This information can be used to set up preventive programs and to promote adequate clinical management among this population.

Epidemiological profile of ICU patients at Faculdade de Medicina de Marília

“…Several studies show a variable average stay from 4.09 to 28.8 days, 13,15,19,24,[28][29][30] which places us in a comfortable position with the average of 8.09 days. We can assume that the possible causes of these large variations in mean hospital stay are related to the age and preexisting comorbidities in individuals of the studies in question, including ours.…”

Cuidados paliativos em enfermagem ao idoso em UTI: uma revisão integrativa / Palliative nursing care in the elderly in UCI: an integrative review

“…Studies show that approximately 52% of ICU admissions correspond to elderly patients, with the main causes of mortality among Brazilian elderly being: diseases of the circulatory system (35%), neoplasias (19%) and diseases of the respiratory system ( 9%), which represents about 60% of all deaths in both sexes. 1 These data directly reflect the health care that should be provided to this group, in which the health team must be qualified, seeking to offer comfort to patients undergoing palliative care, especially those who are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), which Need a technological apparatus and sophisticated therapeutic resources to save or improve their functional status, and it is essential to establish limits between the prolongation and the best possible quality of life.…”

Intercorrências e cuidados a idosos em unidades de terapia intensiva

“…This is, as a rule, due to the severity of the disease, the existence of comorbidities, as well as poor general condition and reduction of the elderly's recovery capacity. 15 In a study carried out in João Pessoa/PB, elderly people aged 80 years or older were 1.42 times more likely to progress to death than an elderly person in a lower age group.…”