MARTINS, Sónia Cunha; SANCHES, Ana Rita    CARVALHO, Margarida Sousa. Centenarians in an Internal Medicine Ward: An 11 Years Analysis. []. , 25, 2, pp.95-99. ISSN 0872-671X.  https://doi.org/10.24950/rspmi/original/252/2/2018.

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.

: Aged, 80 and over; Comorbidity; Hospitalization; Mortality.

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