Is age a predictor of mortality in a UK medical high dependency unit?

Abstract

Editor'I welcomed the recent study on mortality in a UK high dependency unit.1Hood E Bhangu A Pandit D Michael A Is age a predictor of mortality in a UK medical high dependency unit.Br J Anaesth. 2011; 107: 186-192Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (8) Google Scholar I particularly enjoyed the editor's key points which I repeat here: •Age does not predict the outcome from a medical high dependency unit in the UK.•More than two organ support and pre-admission moderate/nursing home care are associated with worse outcome.•Selected elderly patients should not be denied higher levels of care.The editor's second point is a useful guide to point out to my medical colleagues and fellow anaesthetists, who have limited interest in critical care. Also, most importantly, these points help those of us practicing in the District General Hospitals manage our meagre resources efficiently. For the sake of completeness and without blinding us again with statistics'the sample size is small—100. I have been in critical care a little more than 10 yr and I cannot agree more with the editor's summary. None declared. Reply from the authorsBritish Journal of AnaesthesiaVol. 108Issue 1PreviewEditor'We thank Dr Adegoke for his comments on our paper.1 The arguments we make are likely to become only more relevant as the pressure placed on critical care resources increases with the combination of an ageing population in an economic downturn. We recognize that the sample size is relatively small, although this does represent a prospective series in which significant findings were obtained from a pre-planned analysis. Medical high dependency units represent an under-researched area which has unique patient cohorts and requirements. Full-Text PDF Open Archive