Prevalence of life-sustaining treatment limitations in Polish very old intensive care patients (VIPs). A post-hoc analysis of two prospective observational studies.

PURPOSE: Several initiatives have recently focused on raising awareness about limitations of treatment in Poland. We aimed to assess if the propensity to limit LST among elderly patients in 2018-2019 increased compared to 2016-2017. METHODS: We analysed Polish cohorts from studies VIP1 (October 2016 - May 2017) and VIP2 (May 2018 - May 2019) that enrolled critical patients aged >80. We collected data on demographics, clinical features limitations of LST. Primary analysis assessed factors associated with prevalence of limitations of LST, A secondary analysis explored differences between patients with and without limitations of LST. RESULTS: 601 patients were enrolled. Prevalence of LST limitations was 16.1% in 2016-2017 and 20.5% in 2018-2019. No difference was found in univariate analysis (p = 0.22), multivariable model showed higher propensity towards limiting LST in the 2018-2019 cohort compared to 2016-2017 cohort (OR 1.07;95%CI, 1.01-1.14). There was higher mortality and a longer length of stay of patients with limitations of LST compared to the patients without limitations of LST. (11 vs. 6 days, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The clinicians in Poland have become more proactive in limiting LST in critically ill patients ≥80 years old over the studied period, however the prevalence of limitations of LST in Poland remains low.

Frailty is associated with an increased mortality among patients ≥ 80 years old treated in Polish ICUs

BACKGROUND: The increasing population of very old intensive care patients (VIPs) is a major challenge currently faced by clinicians and policymakers. Reliable indicators of VIPs' prognosis and purposefulness of their admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) are urgently needed. METHODS: This is a report from the Polish sample of the VIP1 multicentre cohort study (NCT03134807). Patients ≥ 80 years of age admitted to the ICU were included in the study. Information on the type and reason for admission, demographics, utilisation of ICU procedures, ICU length of stay, organ dysfunction and the decision to apply end-of-life care was collected. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of frailty syndrome on ICU and 30-day survival of VIPs. Frailty was assessed with the Clinical Frailty Scale (≥ 5 points on a scale of 1-9). RESULTS: We enrolled 272 participants with a median age of 84 (81-87) years. Frailty was diagnosed in 170 (62.5%) patients. The ICU and 30-day survival rates were equal to 54.6% and 47.3% respectively. Three variables were found to significantly increase the odds of death in the ICU in a multiple logistic regression model: SOFA score (OR = 1.16; 95%CI 1.16-1.24), acute mode of admission (OR = 5.1; 95%CI 1.67-15.57) and frailty (OR = 2.25; 95%CI 1.26-4.01). CONCLUSION: Measuring frailty in critically ill older adults can facilitate making more informed clinical decisions and help avoid futile interventions.

Brain metastasis as the first symptom of gastric cancer--case report and literature review.

The study presented a patient with asymptomatic gastric cancer, in whom the first symptom was metastasis to the brain. The patient was initially diagnosed by a neurologist and subject to surgical intervention in the area of residence, where he underwent craniotomy with the excision of the metastatic lesions located in the occipital lobe. The histopathological examination revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma metastases. Following complex diagnostics the patient was diagnosed with cardial carcinoma, being subject to cerebral radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The patient was then referred to surgery at the Wielkopolska Cancer Center in Poznan. After final exclusion of disease dissemination (by means of PET-CT) the patient underwent total gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy, and gastrointestinal tract reconstruction by means of the Roux-en-Y method. The histopathological examination result was as follows: tubular-papillary G2 adenocarcinoma (intestinal type), pT2 pN0 (23 evaluated lymph nodes without cancer metastasis), vascular neoplastic emboli, and positive HER2 protein expression. After surgery the patient was subject to adjuvant chemotherapy. Control brain CT examinations revealed the presence of 4 recurrent metastatic lesions-the patient was disqualified from stereotactic radiation therapy and was subject to palliative chemotherapy. The discussion presented the problem of treating patients with stage IV gastric cancer, including current management guidelines, as well as literature review concerning the treatment of patients with diagnosed gastric cancer and brain metastases.