Comorbidities and COVID-19 status influence the survival rate of geriatric patients in intensive care units: a prospective cohort study from the Indonesian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy

BACKGROUND: With the more advanced science in the field of medicine and disease management, the population of geriatric intensive care patients is increasing. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare management around the globe, especially on critically-ill elderly patients. We aim to analyse the relationship between underlying illnesses, including COVID-19, and the survival rate of elderly patients who are treated in the intensive care setting. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study at 14 teaching hospitals for Anaesthesiology and Intensive Therapy Education in Indonesia. We selected all subjects with 60 years of age or older in the period between February to May 2021. Variables recorded included subject characteristics, comorbidities, and COVID-19 status. Subjects were followed for 30-day mortality as an outcome. We analysed the data using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. RESULTS: We recruited 982 elderly patients, and 728 subjects were in the final analysis (60.7% male; 68.0 ± 6.6 years old). The 30-day mortality was 38.6%. The top five comorbidities are hypertension (21.1%), diabetes (16.2%), moderate or severe renal disease (10.6%), congestive heart failure (9.2%), and cerebrovascular disease (9.1%). Subjects with Charlson’s Comorbidity Index Score > 5 experienced 66% death. Subjects with COVID-19 who died were 57.4%. Subjects with comorbidities and COVID-19 had lower survival time than subjects without those conditions (p < 0.005). Based on linear correlation analysis, the more comorbidities the geriatric patients in the ICU had, the higher chance of mortality in 30 days (p < 0.005, R coefficient 0.22). CONCLUSION: Approximately one in four elderly intensive care patients die, and the number is increasing with comorbidities and COVID-19 status.