OLDEST-OLD PATIENTS IN ACUTE CARE HOSPITALS: A PORTUGUESE NATIONWIDE 15-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

摘要

The oldest old is one of the fastest growing segments of the population in most developed countries. This exponential growth is expected to place a heavy demand on healthcare systems worldwide, since the oldest old are intensive users of healthcare services. This study aims to analyze inpatient hospitalizations by persons aged 80+ between 2000 and 2014 in Portugal. Administrative data from all public acute care hospitals in the Portuguese National Health Service was considered (national hospitalization database). Exploratory descriptive analyses regarding the number and nature of the episodes and discharge diagnoses were performed. A total of 1.837,613 inpatient episodes (number that doubled from 80590 in 2000 to 166210 in 2014) were analyzed. The majority were unplanned admissions (85.9%), of which 73% were medical (without any surgical intervention) and 12.9% were surgical. The most frequent diagnoses (classified in Major Diagnostic Categories) were Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory System (22.2%), Diseases and Disorders of the Circulatory System (17.1%), and Diseases and Disorders of the Nervous System (10.8%). This study pointed to an increasing importance of oldest old patients in acute care hospitals, and provides insights into the clinical characteristics of these patients. The demand for hospital services by the oldest old should be a major concern for policy agents and healthcare professionals. Further studies should focus on variables associated with adverse outcomes, namely in-hospital mortality rates.