Is this critically ill patient elderly or too old?

Excerpt

Life expectancy is increasing in industrialized countries. It is forecast that in the European Union 24.4 million people will be older than 85 years in 2040, more than doubling from the 10.4 million seen in 2010 [1]. In parallel, the rates admission of very elderly patients to intensive care units (ICU) have increased, currently corresponding to 15% of all ICU admissions [2]. Given limitations in ICU bed availability, this poses challenges to the ICU triage decision-making process. Indeed, old age as such is for some physicians a reason for refusing ICU admission [3]. The ethical dilemma lies on the will to not admit old patients because they are believed to have a poor prognosis or perceived poor quality of life, thereby possibly refusing to admit those old patients for whom ICU care can make a difference. This conundrum is illustrated by the wide variation in admission rates of the very elderly seen between hospitals [4]. …