Centenarians in an Internal Medicine Ward: An 11 Years Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The aging of the population is an inescapable
reality. Recently published statistical data shows that the
population aged 100 years or over has shown a strong increase in Portugal. However, there are few studies characterizing such an elderly population which almost invariably is
admitted to hospital at some point.
Methods: A retrospective study of patients aged 100 years or
over hospitalized in the department of Internal Medicine from
01/01/2006 to 31/12/2016.
Results: In the period under analysis, there were 172 admissions (< 0.4% of the total) corresponding to 130 patients. The
average age was 101.1 years, with 74.4% of the patients being female. A percentage of 51.7% of the patients came from
their domiciles, and the degree of dependence for daily life
activities evaluated as being “totally dependent” in 60.5% of
cases. Analysis of the personal histories revealed that 46.7%
of patients had 2 or 3 comorbidities, with arterial hypertension, heart failure and dementia being the most prevalent.
Polypharmacy was present in 41.8% of patients. Infectious
pathology of the respiratory system stood out as the reason
for hospitalization (57.6%) and as the direct cause of death
(52.1%). A mortality rate of 41.3% was found.
Conclusion: Hospital admissions for centenarian patients
have been steadily increasing over the years, and these are
generally associated with a worsening degree of functional dependency and, consequently, higher socioeconomic
costs. This study made it possible to better characterize this
population in order to adopt more appropriate responses to
these hospitalizations.