Mortality and mobility of mature adult patient in the intensive care unit

Introduction: A part of the admissions to the intensive care unit are made up of adults in middle age (between 40 and 59 years old). Objectives: Characterize the mature adult admitted to the intensive care unit. Methods: Observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study, in the intensive care unit with a series of 1214 patients. The following were studied: age, sex, type of admission, APACHE II upon admission, mechanical ventilation, length of stay, mortality and direct cause of death. Statistical methods: Frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, chi-square tests and Student's t test; 5 % significance level was stated. Results: The mean age was 50.9 ± 5.3 years. The age group 50-59 years (61.9 %) and the male sex (60.0 %) predominated. 55.3 % were discharged alive. There was a significant difference between the mean ages between those who died and those who were discharged alive (p< 0.0001). Clinical admission was awarded the highest number of admissions (65.0 %). The mean APACHE II value was 14.5 ± 7.6; in the deceased it was higher (20.0 vs. 10.0). 58.5 % of patients did not receive mechanical ventilation. The average stay was 6.6 days, longer in those who died (7.8 vs. 5.6). The main cause of death was severe cerebral edema (22.6 %). Conclusions: The age group 50-59 years predominates, the male sex, the cause of admission was clinical, the APACHE II value = 15 points, the stay = 7 days, requiring MV and being discharged alive; the direct cause of death is intense cerebral edema.