Stroke in the Very Elderly: Hospital Care, Case Fatality and Disposition

aged 90 and over were more likely admitted on weekends (28.1 vs. 24.6; p ! 0.001), and less likely to be admitted to the ICU (4.3 vs. 13.0%, p ! 0.001) and discharged to their pre-stroke residence (39.9 % for those over 90 vs. 57.3 % for pa-tients younger than 90, p ! 0.001). In the multivariable anal-ysis, nonagenarians and older were 5–8 times more likely to die after adjusting for covariates. Conclusion: In our study, stroke patients over 90 had higher risk-adjusted mortality, longer hospitalization, and were less likely to be discharged to their original place of residence. In view of these findings, strategies need to be implemented to facilitate equal access to specialized stroke care for the elderly. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Base