Current Opinion in Critical Care · Jul 6, 2026

The impact of age, prior health status, and frailty on outcome prediction in critical care

By Flaatten H, Beil M, Guidet B

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: We highlight publications from the year 2025 that examined the contribution of age, frailty, and chronic conditions to outcomes in ICU patients aged 80 years and older. Traditional prediction models are less precise in this population, partly due to the limited inclusion of very old patients in risk prediction tools such as SAPS and APACHE, as well as the absence of geriatric-specific variables in these models. RECENT FINDINGS: Beyond chronological age, the most important variables associated with survival in this group are general health factors, including frailty and the presence of chronic diseases (multimorbidity). This review discusses studies published over the past year that focus on the impact of these conditions in ICU patients aged over 80 years. There is also a growing focus on nonagenarians, with emerging evidence supporting ICU admission in selected patients within this age group. An important subgroup comprises patients with cognitive impairment. While cognitive outcomes are well described in ICU survivors, less is known about the impact of pre-ICU cognitive decline on outcome. SUMMARY: Findings from these studies confirm increased mortality in this population. However, greater emphasis should be placed on functional outcomes, as well as on the "second victims"-family members and caregivers.

doi.org/10.1097/mcc.0000000000001407PubMed 42470649Populations