Unexpected out-of-hospital deaths in persons aged 85 years or older: an autopsy study of 1886 patients
| Autor: | Ernst Sim, Missliwetz J, Manfred Muhm, Peter Fasching, Barbara Fazeny-Dörner, Andrea Berzlanovich, Thomas Waldhoer, Christine Marosi |
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| Rok vydání: | 2003 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Urologic Diseases Gerontology medicine.medical_specialty Pediatrics Gastrointestinal Diseases Respiratory Tract Diseases Autopsy Disease Central Nervous System Diseases Cause of Death Epidemiology medicine Humans Aged Aged 80 and over Out of hospital Genitourinary system business.industry Public health General Medicine Time of death Cardiovascular Diseases Austria Etiology Female business |
| Zdroj: | The American Journal of Medicine. 114:365-369 |
| ISSN: | 0002-9343 |
| Popis: | Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the causes of death in the very elderly. Methods We reviewed 24,081 consecutive autopsies performed over 10 years (1989 to 1998) at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Vienna, Austria. We focused on autopsies of people aged 85 years or older who died unexpectedly out of hospital. Results The mean age of the 1886 patients (561 men and 1325 women) at the time of death was 88 ± 3 years (range, 85 to 108 years). Thirty-one percent (n = 588) of those who died were described as having been previously healthy. Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death (n = 1465 [77%]). Thirteen percent (n = 246) died of respiratory illness, 5% (n = 94) of gastrointestinal disorders, and 3% (n = 53) of diseases of the central nervous system. Genitourinary and metabolic diseases were uncommon. Conclusion Although this out-of-hospital sample is not representative of the entire elderly population, postmortem examinations emphasize the importance of cardiovascular diseases in causing unexpected deaths in older persons. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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