Clinical question: Does the increasing number of ICU beds in the U.S. affect the use of mechanical ventilation in nursing home patients with advanced dementia?
Background: Some physicians are concerned that increases in ICU beds in the U.S. will translate to increased treatment of advanced dementia in the ICU, which might not line up with their preferences, nor improve mortality.
Study design: Retrospective cohort study.
Setting: Hospitals that completed the American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey.
Synopsis: From 2000 to 2013, there were 635,008 hospitalizations of 380,060 Medicare patients with advanced dementia who had been in a nursing home in the 120 days prior to hospital admission. ICU admissions increased to 38.5% from 16.9% during the same period. The rate of mechanical ventilation per 1,000 hospital admissions increased to 78 from 39, and 1-year mortality for ventilation was unchanged.
For each increase in 10 ICU beds within a hospital, the adjusted odds ratio for receiving mechanical ventilation was 1.06 (95% CI, 1.05-1.07).
Limitations of the study include that only hospitals completing the AHA annual survey were studied, and also lacked information on individual patients.
Bottom line: The use of mechanical ventilation increased in hospitalized nursing home patients with advanced dementia, correlating with increased ICU bed capacity, yet with no changes in survival.
Citation: Teno JM, Gozalo P, Khandelwal N, et al. Association of increasing use of mechanical ventilation among nursing home residents with advanced dementia and intensive care unit beds [published online ahead of print, Oct. 10, 2016]. JAMA Int Med. 2016;176(12):1809-16.
Dr. Balch is a clinical instructor at the University of Utah School of Medicine and an academic hospitalist at the University of Utah Hospital.
