Provision of critical care for the elderly in Europe: a retrospective comparison of national healthcare frameworks in intensive care units

Bernhard Wernly, Michael Beil, Raphael Romano Bruno, Stephan Binnebössel, Malte Kelm, Sviri Sigal, Peter Vernon van Heerden, Ariane Boumendil, Antonio Artigas, Maurizio Cecconi, Brian Marsh, Rui Moreno, Sandra Oeyen, Bernardo Bollen Pinto, Wojciech Szczeklik, Susannah Leaver, Sten Mikael Walther, Joerg C Schefold, Michael Joannidis, Jesper Fjølner, Tilemachos Zafeiridis, Dylan de Lange, Bertrand Guidet, Hans Flaatten, Christian Jung, VIP2 study group, Michael Joannidis, Philipp Eller, Raimund Helbok, René Schmutz, Joke Nollet, Nikolaas de Neve, Pieter De Buysscher, Sandra Oeyen, Walter Swinnen, Marijana Mikačić, Anders Bastiansen, Andreas Husted, Bård E S Dahle, Christine Cramer, Christoffer Sølling, Dorthe Ørsnes, Jakob Edelberg Thomsen, Jonas Juul Pedersen, Mathilde Hummelmose Enevoldsen, Thomas Elkmann, Agnieszka Kubisz-Pudelko, Alan Pope, Amy Collins, Ashok S Raj, Carole Boulanger, Christian Frey, Ciaran Hart, Clare Bolger, Dominic Spray, Georgina Randell, Helder Filipe, Ingeborg D Welters, Irina Grecu, Jane Evans, Jason Cupitt, Jenny Lord, Jeremy Henning, Joanne Jones, Jonathan Ball, Julie North, Kiran Salaunkey, Laura Ortiz-Ruiz De Gordoa, Louise Bell, Madhu Balasubramaniam, Marcela Vizcaychipi, Maria Faulkner, McDonald Mupudzi, Megan Lea-Hagerty, Michael Reay, Michael Spivey, Nicholas Love, Nick Spittle, Nigel White, Patricia Williams, Patrick Morgan, Phillipa Wakefield, Rachel Savine, Reni Jacob, Richard Innes, Ritoo Kapoor, Sally Humphreys, Steve Rose, Susan Dowling, Susannah Leaver, Tarkeshwari Mane, Tom Lawton, Vongayi Ogbeide, Waqas Khaliq, Yolanda Baird, Antoine Romen, Arnaud Galbois, Bertrand Guidet, Christophe Vinsonneau, Cyril Charron, Didier Thevenin, Emmanuel Guerot, Guillaume Besch, Guillaume Savary, Hervé Mentec, Jean-Luc Chagnon, Jean-Philippe Rigaud, Jean-Pierre Quenot, Jeremy Castaneray, Jérémy Rosman, Julien Maizel, Kelly Tiercelet, Lucie Vettoretti, Maud Mousset Hovaere, Messika Messika, Michel Djibré, Nathalie Rolin, Philippe Burtin, Pierre Garcon, Saad Nseir, Xavier Valette, Christian Rabe, Eberhard Barth, Henning Ebelt, Kristina Fuest, Marcus Franz, Michael Horacek, Michael Schuster, Patrick Meybohm, Raphael Romano Bruno, Sebastian Allgäuer, Simon Dubler, Stefan J Schaller, Stefan Schering, Stephan Steiner, Thorben Dieck, Tim Rahmel, Tobias Graf, Anastasia Koutsikou, Aristeidis Vakalos, Bogdan Raitsiou, Elli Niki Flioni, Evangelia Neou, Fotios Tsimpoukas, Georgios Papathanakos, Giorgos Marinakis, Ioannis Koutsodimitropoulos, Kounougeri Aikaterini, Nikoletta Rovina, Stylliani Kourelea, Tasioudis Polychronis, Vasiiios Zidianakis, Vryza Konstantinia, Zoi Aidoni, Brian Marsh, Catherine Motherway, Chris Read, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Andrea Neville Cracchiolo, Aristide Morigi, Italo Calamai, Stefania Brusa, Ahmed Elhadi, Ahmed Tarek, Ala Khaled, Hazem Ahmed, Wesal Ali Belkhair, Alexander D Cornet, Diederik Gommers, Dylan de Lange, Evavan Boven, Jasper Haringman, Lenneke Haas, Lettie van den Berg, Oscar Hoiting, Peter de Jager, Rik T Gerritsen, Tom Dormans, Willem Dieperink, Alena Breidablik, Anita Slapgard, Anne-Karin Rime, Bente Jannestad, Britt Sjøbøe, Eva Rice, Finn H Andersen, Hans Frank Strietzel, Jan Peter Jensen, Jørund Langørgen, Kirsti Tøien, Kristian Strand, Michael Hahn, Pål Klepstad, Aleksandra Biernacka, Anna Kluzik, Bartosz Kudlinski, Dariusz Maciejewski, Dorota Studzińska, Hubert Hymczak, Jan Stefaniak, Joanna Solek-Pastuszka, Joanna Zorska, Katarzyna Cwyl, Lukasz J Krzych, Maciej Zukowski, Małgorzata Lipińska-Gediga, Marek Pietruszko, Mariusz Piechota, Marta Serwa, Miroslaw Czuczwar, Mirosław Ziętkiewicz, Natalia Kozera, Paweł Nasiłowski, Paweł Sendur, Paweł Zatorski, Piotr Galkin, Ryszard Gawda, Urszula Kościuczuk, Waldemar Cyrankiewicz, Wojciech Gola, Alexandre Fernandes Pinto, Ana Margarida Fernandes, Ana Rita Santos, Cristina Sousa, Inês Barros, Isabel Amorim Ferreira, Jacobo Bacariza Blanco, João Teles Carvalho, Jose Maia, Nuno Candeias, Nuno Catorze, Vladislav Belskiy, Africa Lores, Angela Prado Mira, Catia Cilloniz, David Perez-Torres, Emilio Maseda, Enver Rodriguez, Estefania Prol-Silva, Gaspar Eixarch, Gemma Gomà, Gerardo Aguilar, Gonzalo Navarro Velasco, MariánIrazábal Jaimes, Mercedes Ibarz Villamayor, Noemí Llamas Fernández, Patricia Jimeno Cubero, Sonia López-Cuenca, Teresa Tomasa, Anders Sjöqvist, Camilla Brorsson, Fredrik Schiöler, Henrik Westberg, Jessica Nauska, Joakim Sivik, Johan Berkius, Karin Kleiven Thiringer, Lina DeGeer, Sten Walther, Filippo Boroli, Joerg C Schefold, Leila Hergafi, Philippe Eckert, Ismail Yıldız, Ihor Yovenko, Yuriy Nalapko, Yuriy Nalapko, Richard Pugh, Bernhard Wernly, Michael Beil, Raphael Romano Bruno, Stephan Binnebössel, Malte Kelm, Sviri Sigal, Peter Vernon van Heerden, Ariane Boumendil, Antonio Artigas, Maurizio Cecconi, Brian Marsh, Rui Moreno, Sandra Oeyen, Bernardo Bollen Pinto, Wojciech Szczeklik, Susannah Leaver, Sten Mikael Walther, Joerg C Schefold, Michael Joannidis, Jesper Fjølner, Tilemachos Zafeiridis, Dylan de Lange, Bertrand Guidet, Hans Flaatten, Christian Jung, VIP2 study group, Michael Joannidis, Philipp Eller, Raimund Helbok, René Schmutz, Joke Nollet, Nikolaas de Neve, Pieter De Buysscher, Sandra Oeyen, Walter Swinnen, Marijana Mikačić, Anders Bastiansen, Andreas Husted, Bård E S Dahle, Christine Cramer, Christoffer Sølling, Dorthe Ørsnes, Jakob Edelberg Thomsen, Jonas Juul Pedersen, Mathilde Hummelmose Enevoldsen, Thomas Elkmann, Agnieszka Kubisz-Pudelko, Alan Pope, Amy Collins, Ashok S Raj, Carole Boulanger, Christian Frey, Ciaran Hart, Clare Bolger, Dominic Spray, Georgina Randell, Helder Filipe, Ingeborg D Welters, Irina Grecu, Jane Evans, Jason Cupitt, Jenny Lord, Jeremy Henning, Joanne Jones, Jonathan Ball, Julie North, Kiran Salaunkey, Laura Ortiz-Ruiz De Gordoa, Louise Bell, Madhu Balasubramaniam, Marcela Vizcaychipi, Maria Faulkner, McDonald Mupudzi, Megan Lea-Hagerty, Michael Reay, Michael Spivey, Nicholas Love, Nick Spittle, Nigel White, Patricia Williams, Patrick Morgan, Phillipa Wakefield, Rachel Savine, Reni Jacob, Richard Innes, Ritoo Kapoor, Sally Humphreys, Steve Rose, Susan Dowling, Susannah Leaver, Tarkeshwari Mane, Tom Lawton, Vongayi Ogbeide, Waqas Khaliq, Yolanda Baird, Antoine Romen, Arnaud Galbois, Bertrand Guidet, Christophe Vinsonneau, Cyril Charron, Didier Thevenin, Emmanuel Guerot, Guillaume Besch, Guillaume Savary, Hervé Mentec, Jean-Luc Chagnon, Jean-Philippe Rigaud, Jean-Pierre Quenot, Jeremy Castaneray, Jérémy Rosman, Julien Maizel, Kelly Tiercelet, Lucie Vettoretti, Maud Mousset Hovaere, Messika Messika, Michel Djibré, Nathalie Rolin, Philippe Burtin, Pierre Garcon, Saad Nseir, Xavier Valette, Christian Rabe, Eberhard Barth, Henning Ebelt, Kristina Fuest, Marcus Franz, Michael Horacek, Michael Schuster, Patrick Meybohm, Raphael Romano Bruno, Sebastian Allgäuer, Simon Dubler, Stefan J Schaller, Stefan Schering, Stephan Steiner, Thorben Dieck, Tim Rahmel, Tobias Graf, Anastasia Koutsikou, Aristeidis Vakalos, Bogdan Raitsiou, Elli Niki Flioni, Evangelia Neou, Fotios Tsimpoukas, Georgios Papathanakos, Giorgos Marinakis, Ioannis Koutsodimitropoulos, Kounougeri Aikaterini, Nikoletta Rovina, Stylliani Kourelea, Tasioudis Polychronis, Vasiiios Zidianakis, Vryza Konstantinia, Zoi Aidoni, Brian Marsh, Catherine Motherway, Chris Read, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Andrea Neville Cracchiolo, Aristide Morigi, Italo Calamai, Stefania Brusa, Ahmed Elhadi, Ahmed Tarek, Ala Khaled, Hazem Ahmed, Wesal Ali Belkhair, Alexander D Cornet, Diederik Gommers, Dylan de Lange, Evavan Boven, Jasper Haringman, Lenneke Haas, Lettie van den Berg, Oscar Hoiting, Peter de Jager, Rik T Gerritsen, Tom Dormans, Willem Dieperink, Alena Breidablik, Anita Slapgard, Anne-Karin Rime, Bente Jannestad, Britt Sjøbøe, Eva Rice, Finn H Andersen, Hans Frank Strietzel, Jan Peter Jensen, Jørund Langørgen, Kirsti Tøien, Kristian Strand, Michael Hahn, Pål Klepstad, Aleksandra Biernacka, Anna Kluzik, Bartosz Kudlinski, Dariusz Maciejewski, Dorota Studzińska, Hubert Hymczak, Jan Stefaniak, Joanna Solek-Pastuszka, Joanna Zorska, Katarzyna Cwyl, Lukasz J Krzych, Maciej Zukowski, Małgorzata Lipińska-Gediga, Marek Pietruszko, Mariusz Piechota, Marta Serwa, Miroslaw Czuczwar, Mirosław Ziętkiewicz, Natalia Kozera, Paweł Nasiłowski, Paweł Sendur, Paweł Zatorski, Piotr Galkin, Ryszard Gawda, Urszula Kościuczuk, Waldemar Cyrankiewicz, Wojciech Gola, Alexandre Fernandes Pinto, Ana Margarida Fernandes, Ana Rita Santos, Cristina Sousa, Inês Barros, Isabel Amorim Ferreira, Jacobo Bacariza Blanco, João Teles Carvalho, Jose Maia, Nuno Candeias, Nuno Catorze, Vladislav Belskiy, Africa Lores, Angela Prado Mira, Catia Cilloniz, David Perez-Torres, Emilio Maseda, Enver Rodriguez, Estefania Prol-Silva, Gaspar Eixarch, Gemma Gomà, Gerardo Aguilar, Gonzalo Navarro Velasco, MariánIrazábal Jaimes, Mercedes Ibarz Villamayor, Noemí Llamas Fernández, Patricia Jimeno Cubero, Sonia López-Cuenca, Teresa Tomasa, Anders Sjöqvist, Camilla Brorsson, Fredrik Schiöler, Henrik Westberg, Jessica Nauska, Joakim Sivik, Johan Berkius, Karin Kleiven Thiringer, Lina DeGeer, Sten Walther, Filippo Boroli, Joerg C Schefold, Leila Hergafi, Philippe Eckert, Ismail Yıldız, Ihor Yovenko, Yuriy Nalapko, Yuriy Nalapko, Richard Pugh

Abstract

Objectives: In Europe, there is a distinction between two different healthcare organisation systems, the tax-based healthcare system (THS) and the social health insurance system (SHI). Our aim was to investigate whether the characteristics, treatment and mortality of older, critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) differed between THS and SHI.

Setting: ICUs in 16 European countries.

Participants: In total, 7817 critically ill older (≥80 years) patients were included in this study, 4941 in THS and 2876 in the SHI systems.

Primary and secondary outcomes measures: We chose generalised estimation equations with robust standard errors to produce population average adjusted OR (aOR). We adjusted for patient-specific variables, health economic data, including gross domestic product (GDP) and human development index (HDI), and treatment strategies.

Results: In SHI systems, there were higher rates of frail patients (Clinical Frailty Scale>4; 46% vs 41%; p<0.001), longer length of ICU stays (90±162 vs 72±134 hours; p<0.001) and increased levels of organ support. The ICU mortality (aOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.06; p=0.01) was consistently higher in the SHI; however, the 30-day mortality (aOR 0.89, 95% CI 0.66 to 1.21; p=0.47) was similar between THS and SHI. In a sensitivity analysis stratifying for the health economic data, the 30-day mortality was higher in SHI, in low GDP per capita (aOR 2.17, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.58) and low HDI (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.64 to 2.20) settings.

Conclusions: The 30-day mortality was similar in both systems. Patients in SHI were older, sicker and frailer at baseline, which could be interpreted as a sign for a more liberal admission policy in SHI. We believe that the observed trend towards ICU excess mortality in SHI results mainly from a more liberal admission policy and an increase in treatment limitations.

Trial registration numbers: NCT03134807 and NCT03370692.

Keywords: adult intensive & critical care; geriatric medicine; public health.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sensitivity analyses stratifying 30-day mortality for patient-specific characteristics using generalised estimation equations producing population average ORs. The depicted aORs from model-1 include only the intensive care unit (ICU) as panel. The 30-day mortality was similar between tax-based healthcare system (THS) and health insurance system (SHI) in male (aOR 1.26, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.61), frail (aOR 1.15, 95% CI 0.998 to 1.710), non-frail (aOR 1.15, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.52), nonagenarian (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 0.81 to 2.02) patients. There was a higher mortality in SHI in octogenarian (aOR 1.29, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.59) and female (aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.70) patients and in patients staying below 72 hours (aOR 1.41, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.85).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sensitivity analyses stratifying 30-day mortality for treatment strategies using generalised estimation equations producing population average ORs. The depicted aORs from model-1 include only the intensive care unit as panel. The 30-day mortality was similar in patients with renal replacement therapy (RRT), without vasoactive drugs, intubated and non-intubated paitents and patients on non-invasive ventilation (NIV). There was a trend towards higher 30-day mortality in patients without RRT (aOR 1.29, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.60) and without NIV (aOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.94). SHI, health insurance system; THS, tax-based healthcare system.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sensitivity analyses stratifying 30-day mortality for health economic data using generalised estimation equations producing population average ORs. The depicted aORs from model-1 include only the intensive care unit (ICU) as panel. The 30-day-mortality was higher in SHI, in settings with low ICU beds per capita (aOR 2.17 95%CI 1.57-3.02), low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (aOR 2.17 95% CI 1.42-3.58) and low human development index (HDI) (aOR 1.22 95% CI 1.64-2.20), as well as in high total health spending settings. SHI, health insurance system; THS, tax-based healthcare system.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risk model calibration accuracy/goodness of fit was evaluated graphically by stratification of patients into Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) quartiles (Q1: SOFA 0–4; Q2:>4–7; Q3>7–10, Q4>10) and comparison of observed versus expected events within risk strata. In the graphical calibration analysis, both tax-based healthcare system (THS) and health insurance system (SHI) showed agreement of predicted intensive care unit (ICU) mortality probability and observed events in SOFA risk quartiles, both in all patients (A) and in patients without any treatment limitation (B).

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