Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học Critical Care cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: Acute respiratory failure in the elderly. | Available online http content 10 4 151 Commentary Acute respiratory failure in the elderly Jean-Yves Fagon Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris and Faculte René Descartes Paris 5 Paris France Corresponding author Jean-Yves Fagon Published 25 July 2006 This article is online at http content 10 4 151 2006 BioMed Central Ltd Critical Care 2006 10 151 doi cc4982 See related research by Ray et al. http content 10 3 R82 Abstract With the current epidemiology of a growing advanced-age population and the specificities of critical illness in elderly patients studies on this topic are appropriate. We need more clinical trials and evaluations of diagnostic and management procedures applied in the elderly as well as studies designed to identify prognostic factors for inhospital mortality or mortality in the intensive care unit in the elderly. Studies evaluating long-term outcomes including quality of life and costs are also needed to try to define realistic goals for patients families and physicians. The elderly population is growing in developed countries. For example in the United States the population aged 65 years has risen from 12 million 8 in 1950 to 36 million 12 in 2002. In the same period an eightfold increase was observed in the population aged 85 years and older 1 this population of oldest-old patients is anticipated to reach 7 million in 2020 and 14 million in 2040. Elderly patients are frequent users of hospital particularly critical care services. Of the patients admitted to the intensive care units ICUs of 40 institutions in the United States and of 36 medical and surgical ICUs in Paris suburbs the proportions of patients who were over age 65 were 48 and 38 respectively 2 3 . The incidence of acute respiratory failure ARF increases almost exponentially with age 4 . Briefly the incidence of ARF in the 65-84 age group is almost twice that of the 55-64 age .
