Geriatric Assessment at Discharge From the Intensive Care Unit in Patients Aged 75 Years and Older: a Feasibility Study

The number of patients aged over 75 continues to grow, and, according to INSEE, will represent almost 10% of the French population in 2021, an increase of 2.4 points since 2000. This demographic change is also observed in the intensive care units, where admitted patients aged over 80 represent now up to 10-20% of critical care admissions, depending on the facility.

The admission of these patients remains controversial, with questions about the benefit to elderly patients, both in terms of in-hospital and distant survival, as well as induced morbidity or subsequent quality of life: functional status is impaired in up to two-thirds of survivors.

The challenge of identifying the patients most able to withstand a stay is a major one. Indeed, a stay in intensive care represents a major stress for the organism, due to the acute condition associated with one or more organ failure(s). Bed rest, immobilization and the use of drugs are responsible for formidable complications in the elderly: muscle-wasting, loss of adaptation to physical effort, loss of autonomy, delirium and agitation, all of which have their own long-term impact.

While many studies have looked at the prognostic factors on admission of these patients, and the selection of the patient with the greatest probability of surviving the intensive care unit (ICU), improving the outcome of patients who survive to the ICU stay remains a little-investigated subject. However, the impact of physical and psychological disturbances induced by these patients' stay in intensive care is major, and their detection and management could be elements of interest in improving the care of this population. However, the feasibility of carrying out such an assessment immediately after an ICU stay has yet to be evaluated. The aim of this study would be to evaluate the feasibility of a geriatric assessment at the end of the ICU stay (or within 7 days of discharge) and at 6 months. This study is a prospective, randomized, single-center, open-label interventional study.