Monaldi archives for chest disease = Archivio Monaldi per le malattie del torace / Fondazione clinica del lavoro, IRCCS [and] Istituto di clinica tisiologica e malattie apparato respiratorio, Università di Napoli, Secondo ateneo
-
Elderly patients are increasingly opting for intensive care unit (ICU) treatment with mechanical ventilation (MV). The aim of this study was to review specific aspects of MV in the older elderly (80-yrs-old and older). We retrospectively studied all patients who underwent MV during a 2-year-period in our respiratory ICU. ⋯ This selection enables us to obtain results from older populations which are as good as those from nonselected younger populations. When its use is practicable, noninvasive ventilation is associated with less discomfort, fewer complications and better short-term results than is endotracheal ventilation. In all cases, the long-term prognosis is poor.