Clinical profiles of centenarian patients presenting to the emergency department with an acute disease

Abstract

Objective: With the aging of society, the number of centenarians, i.e., individuals aged 100 years and over, is increasing. This study aimed to develop strategies to prevent mortality and morbidity by determining the clinical profiles of patients aged 100 and over who applied to the emergency department (ED). Materials and Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of patients aged 100 years and older that presented to the ED of tertiary hospital with an acute disease between 2012 and 2021. An analysis was performed using the patient files and computer database containing information on demographic characteristics, presentation complaints, clinical findings, emergency severity index (ESI) triage categories, final diagnoses and outcomes in the ED, length of hospital stay, and discharge characteristics. Results: Of the 222 patients that presented to the ED, 98.6% were women, 78.8% lived in their own homes, and 71.6% were transferred to the hospital by ambulance. At the time of presentation, 72.1% of the patients were in the ESI 3 triage category. Overall, 35.1% of the patients were hospitalized, and the median length of stay in the ED was 240 minutes. Mortality was the in-hospital outcome in 10.4% of the patients. The ESI triage categories, number of consultations, and length of hospital stay were found to be directly related to mortality (p<0.001). Conclusion: Defining patient profile and reasons for mortality and morbidity in centenarian patients, can be used to both prevent possible adverse events and effectively plan healthcare services in this population.