Cost analysis of the very elderly admitted to intensive care units

Nicolas Chin-Yee, Gianni D'Egidio, Kednapa Thavorn, Daren Heyland, Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, Nicolas Chin-Yee, Gianni D'Egidio, Kednapa Thavorn, Daren Heyland, Kwadwo Kyeremanteng

Abstract

Background: Very elderly patients are often admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) despite poor outcomes and frequent preference to avoid unnecessary prolongation of life. We sought to determine the cost of ICU admission for the very elderly and the factors influencing this cost.

Methods: This prospective, observational cohort study included patients ≥80 years old admitted to 22 Canadian ICUs from 2009 to 2013. A subset of consenting individuals comprised a longitudinal cohort followed over 12 months. Costs were calculated from ICU length of stay and unit costs for ICU admission from a Canadian academic hospital. A generalized linear model was employed to identify cost-predictive variables.

Results: In total, 1671 patients were included; 610 were enrolled in the longitudinal cohort. The average age was 85 years; median ICU length of stay was 4 days. Mortality was 35% (585/1671) in hospital and 41% (253/610) at 12 months. The average cost of ICU admission per patient was $31,679 ± 65,867. Estimated ICU costs were $48,744 per survivor to discharge and $61,783 per survivor at 1 year. For both decedents and survivors, preference for comfort measures over life support was an independent predictor for lower cost (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Considering the poor clinical outcomes, and that many ICU admissions may be undesired by very elderly patients, ICU costs in this population are substantial. Our finding that a preference for comfort care predicted a lower cost independent of mortality reinforces the importance of early goals of care discussions to avoid both undesired and potentially non-beneficial interventions, consequently reducing costs.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01293708 . Registered on 10 February 2011.

Keywords: Cost of care; Critical illness; End-of-life care; Octogenarian; Outcome assessment.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Intensive care unit (ICU) costs in very elderly patients with respect to mortality. Average cost of ICU admission per patient (hospital cohort) and calculated total ICU cost per survivor to discharge and at 1 year. The longitudinal cohort was a selected cohort of individuals from the hospital cohort followed over a 1-year period. Costs are presented in Canadian Dollars

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