Department of Intensive Care, Erasme University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium -
Panminerva Med. 2024 Jun;66(2):146-154. doi: 10.23736/S0031-0808.24.05089-4. Epub 2024 Mar 27.
Increasing numbers of older patients are being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as the world's population ages. The biological process of ageing, senescence, results in altered ability to maintain normal homeostasis and organ function, including of the cardiovascular, immune, and neuromuscular systems. This contributes towards increased frailty in older patients, associated with functional limitations and increased vulnerability. Although widely defined using chronological age, the concept of "old age" is thus multifactorial, including biological, but also psychological and sociocultural aspects, which should all be taken into account when considering what is appropriate in terms of ICU admission and management. As for all patients, but perhaps particularly in this subgroup, decisions regarding ICU admission and treatment and the withdrawing and withholding of life support must be individualized.
随着世界人口老龄化，越来越多的老年患者被收治到重症监护病房（ICU）。衰老的生物学过程导致维持正常内环境稳定和器官功能的能力发生改变，包括心血管、免疫和神经肌肉系统。这导致老年患者的虚弱程度增加，伴有功能受限和易感性增加。尽管通常使用年龄来定义“老年”，但这个概念是多因素的，包括生物学因素，还有心理和社会文化方面，在考虑 ICU 收治和管理方面合适的内容时，这些因素都应该考虑进去。和所有患者一样，但在这个亚组中可能更为明显，关于 ICU 收治和治疗以及生命支持的停止和撤销的决策必须个体化。
