Very Old Critically Ill Patients

This book, part of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) textbook series, provides detailed up-to-date information on the care of the critical ill very old ( 80 years) patients in the ICU.The very old are expanding fast in our populations, and this is mirrored in our hospitals and ICUs as well. During the last decade, a lot more information about the group of critical ill elderly has been published, and several large networks cooperate in performing multinational studies in this field, one of them with roots in the ESICM. This book will give readers knowledge about the current epidemiology of elderly ICU patients, in patients centered outcomes and factors affecting these outcomes. A large part is devoted to age related changes in vital organ functions, and the specific geriatric "syndromes" like frailty, cognitive decline, reduced activity of daily living, sarcopenia and immunosenecence. This is all important for the practicing intensivists to know about. In addition, specific groups of the elderly in the ICU are also described like the elderly patients with trauma or sepsis.