Abstract
As our population ages, there will be an increasing number of extreme elderly patients (aged 85 years and older) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). Relatively few studies are published about clinical outcomes in this population. We analysed three years of admissions data to the ICU of a teaching hospital in the West Midlands for patients who were aged 85 years or older at time of admission to ICU. Data from 185 patient episodes were included in the analysis. Six-month mortality in medical and surgical emergency patients was 62.5% and 55.1% respectively. Mortality was low in elective surgical patients at 18.6%. For those who survived the acute hospital admission, 68% of patients were discharged home, with a further 17% moving to a rehabilitation facility. A significant proportion of extreme elderly patients admitted to the ICU are surviving critical illness despite advanced age. The majority of survivors returned home, indicating that they were making a positive functional recovery from their illness.