News
Iwashyna and colleagues find ICU doesn’t increase survival rates for some older patient problems
February 20, 2017
For older patients with COPD, heart failure and myocardial infarction, an admission to the ICU may not increase their chance of survival relative to a regular inpatient stay, according to new research by Theodore Iwashyna and colleagues – and the former is much more expensive. The authors are quoted as saying: “These findings suggest that the ICU may be overused for some COPD, heart failure, or acute myocardial infarction patients with an uncertain indication for intensive care, and opportunities exist to decrease health care costs by reducing ICU admissions for certain patients.”