P079: A retrospective cohort study of the impact of age and post-intubation hypotension threshold on mortality

Abstract

Introduction: Endotracheal intubation (EI) is frequently performed in the emergency department (ED). Although this procedure is generally life-saving, EI is also known to cause adverse effects, such as hemodynamic alterations. A systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg is the most commonly accepted definition of hypotension; however systolic blood pressure naturally increases with age. The National Trauma Triage Protocol now states that this threshold could be raised to 110 mmHg in older patients. Objective: to determine the impact of increasing the post-intubation hypotension (PIH) threshold to 110 mmHg on hospital length of stay and mortality in older patients. Methods: Design: A historical cohort of patients admitted in a level-1 trauma center ED between 06/2011 and 05/2016 was constituted. Population: Patients were included if pre-EI vital signs were available, their intubation was performed in the resuscitation room, were aged ≥65, if no surgical access was needed and if EI was performed in ≤3 attempts. Measures: All clinical data including vitals were prospectively recorded using the software ReaScribe. Main outcome was in-hospital mortality. Analyses: Univariate and multivariate analyses assessed the relation between PHI and outcomes. Results: A total of 181 patients were included. When using the 90-mmHg threshold, 92 patients suffered from PIH. Mean length of stay for these PIH patients was 18.9 days, compared to 12.0 days for non-hypotensive patients (P = 0.06). Mortality rate at 24 hours was 9.78% and 15.83% for PIH and non PIH patients, respectively (p = 0.2). The 110-mmHg threshold identified 33 additional PIH patients (n = 125) and their mean length of stay was 17.8 compared to 10.2 days for non PIH patients (P = 0.02). Mortality rate at 24 hours was 9.90% for PIH patients and 21.43% for non PIH patients (p = 0.02). Conclusion: PIH was associated with a significant increase in LOS when the PIH threshold is set at 110. Mortality rate is high in the intubated ED older patient and that increasing hypotension threshold for older patient seem to have no impact on patient mortality at 24 hours. Since our sample is limited, more research is needed to confirm these results.