Intensive care–treated cardiac arrest: a retrospective study on the impact of extended age on mortality, neurological outcome, received treatments and healthcare-associated costs

sjtrem.biomedcentral.com July 28, 2021

The elderly ICU-treated CA patients in this study had worse neurological outcomes, higher mortality and lower cost-effectiveness than younger patients.

Elderly received less intense treatment. Further efforts are needed to recognize the tools for assessing which elderly patients benefit from a more aggressive treatment approach in order to improve the cost-effectiveness of post-CA management.

This study included a total of 1,285 patients, of which 212 (16 %) were ≥75 years of age.

Treatment intensity was lower for the elderly compared to the younger group, with median TISS scores of 116 and 147, respectively (p < 0.001). This single-centre retrospective study included adult CA patients treated in a Finnish tertiary hospital's ICU between 2005 and 2013.