Has the age of patients in ICU changed?

[DuchessOfHastings123]

Over the last few months I have seen many comments on MN on how patients in this wave are much younger (under 50) compared to last year. Does anyone have any information on this?
I looked at the ICNARC reports for March 2020 and Feb 2021 and the age range of patients look very similar to me. First graph is feb 21 and second is march 20.
Just curious what other people's understanding/experience of this is

That’s not January, it’s from September to January.

That is how they report it though?

How many 40-60 year old end up in ICU because they weren't able to access prompt and adequate care at a milder stage of thir illness because the hospitals were swamped?

It is how they report it which is why you can’t quite make the comparison based on the data you have.

I am an ICU nurse and I admit I haven’t looked at any of the numbers but it certainly feels like the patients are younger this time. This is anecdotal but I remember looking after lots of people in their 70s last time whereas now the oldest patient on my unit is in their 50s. We’ve had a handful in their 20s and more in their 30s this time which we didn’t have at all last time.

This is just my experience and could be different elsewhere.

The elderly aren’t getting a look in to ICU. They will be DNAR.

I’m glad she others are questioning these statements that are being thrown around social media. I even saw someone say that the “ICUs are full of people under 50 with no pre-existing conditions”. Where someone can get that from I have no idea. Information about the medical history of each ICU patient is not published.

But it feeds the fear. And some people are living off nothing but fear at the moment.

I dont think the data are easily available yet, but more anecdata - people working in ICU are saying younger and sicker too. Believe it or not as you please but on another thread someone is talking about the ventilator being switched off for a 46 year old previously healthy male.

The numbers in ICU are dropping now, although slowly because people can stay on ventilators a long time if there is still hope they will recover. So at least if you ignore the warning there may be a ventilator should you need it.

@alreadytaken

I dont think the data are easily available yet, but more anecdata - people working in ICU are saying younger and sicker too. Believe it or not as you please but on another thread someone is talking about the ventilator being switched off for a 46 year old previously healthy male.

The numbers in ICU are dropping now, although slowly because people can stay on ventilators a long time if there is still hope they will recover. So at least if you ignore the warning there may be a ventilator should you need it.

Don't think I said I didn't believe it or was ignoring it. I was asking for some more information.

A young man in his late 30's died with us recently and l asked the Critical Care doctor if he had any underlying health issues.

His answer surprised me. He said yes...but nothing that would have affected him but he'd still be reported as having "health issues".

He then went on to say, how many people truly have no health complaints...

Speaking of myself l have a couple of health niggles - one being a heart complaint - but nothing that would make me more vulnerable to Covid. But if l succumbed to it, l would be classed as having "underlying health issues"

I’ve also been wondering about this. I’ve seen more references to patients being younger in this wave both in the press and on threads and I’ve seen an increasing number of articles and posts re people in their 30s and 40s without underlying conditions dying from Covid. However like the OP I’ve not yet seen stats to back this up. Only this afternoon there was a heartbreaking post from a lady about her BIL who was 46 and had no underlying health conditions having his ventilator switched off today as a result of covid.

With higher case numbers there will be higher numbers in all age groups.

The question is surely about proportion of cases in each age group rather than numbers?

@alreadytaken

I dont think the data are easily available yet, but more anecdata - people working in ICU are saying younger and sicker too. Believe it or not as you please but on another thread someone is talking about the ventilator being switched off for a 46 year old previously healthy male.

The numbers in ICU are dropping now, although slowly because people can stay on ventilators a long time if there is still hope they will recover. So at least if you ignore the warning there may be a ventilator should you need it.

Your last sentence is all kinds of trash 🙄

@FourDecades

A young man in his late 30's died with us recently and l asked the Critical Care doctor if he had any underlying health issues.

His answer surprised me. He said yes...but nothing that would have affected him but he'd still be reported as having "health issues".

He then went on to say, how many people truly have no health complaints...

Speaking of myself l have a couple of health niggles - one being a heart complaint - but nothing that would make me more vulnerable to Covid. But if l succumbed to it, l would be classed as having "underlying health issues"

I wonder if that counts for anything in your medical records? If you’ve got an ingrown toenail and had referral for a benign breast lump would that be reported as underlying issues for a covid death?

@FourDecades

A young man in his late 30's died with us recently and l asked the Critical Care doctor if he had any underlying health issues.

His answer surprised me. He said yes...but nothing that would have affected him but he'd still be reported as having "health issues".

He then went on to say, how many people truly have no health complaints...

Speaking of myself l have a couple of health niggles - one being a heart complaint - but nothing that would make me more vulnerable to Covid. But if l succumbed to it, l would be classed as having "underlying health issues"

I’m sure I’ve seen a list of underlying conditions on the government stats and some of them are very surprising to say the least.

@FishWithoutABike

There are more young people in ICU because often there aren’t enough beds and young people are prioritised.

Total bollocks. I work in ITU/Critical Care and we don't priorities any age group. But yes, the age of patients are getting younger. The youngest we have treated was 18. No previous medical history.

Prioritize , sorry typo

Yes Four and tbh i want the truth about who died with CV or ECV conditions not random all health conditions of they are not prioritised for vax. As apparently it includes breaking your arm and migraines etc. so im surprised they find any....

I’m an ICU nurse and we are seeing loads more young people, the average age is now 30 and we have lots of 20 year old with no underlying conditions on ventilators. This is exactly why you have to rely on figures and no anecdotal evidence as anyone can say anything. A month ago a colleague told me she went to hospital with her adult daughter and that the children’s ward was full of kids ill with Covid! She seemed to genuinely believe what she was saying but unpicking that she wouldn’t have been allowed on the children’s ward let alone to check why each patient was there. Before you feel the need to scream at me and call me a denier, I am not and I’m aware that the virus doesn’t discriminate so no one really knows how it will affect them but I can only deal with facts not conjecture.

@InterfectoremVulpes

How many 40-60 year old end up in ICU because they weren't able to access prompt and adequate care at a milder stage of thir illness because the hospitals were swamped?

This is what I was told by a consultant at my sons school younger people are leaving it too late x

Anecdotes always trump stats...

@Hardbackwriter

The thing is, healthcare workers are as prone to confirmation bias and to selective memory as anyone else - I don't think any of them are making up that they've seen people in their 20s/30s/40s in ICU and that it feels like that's a big percentage of who they're dealing with, but I do think it's possible that the patients that they find particularly shocking and upsetting loom larger in their perception.

Excellently put!

I think with the ‘underlying health issues’ thing that the converse of what many people are saying can also be true (that the list of health issues are nonsensical)

So an apparently healthy 40-something could pass away with Covid but they’re hardly going to conduct a full autopsy and discover whether they did, in fact, have any undiagnosed health issues which could have made them more susceptible.

Two things;
I am a nurse, I rarely see anyone under 75 who is frail, but when talking to non healthcare friends and family they think a lot of people over 70 are on their last legs or that being over 70 equals elderly and frail.

If hospitals have increased their critcal care beds by 200%, if the numbers of people who are needing those beds are dropping that is obviously a good thing. Personally I will be happy when the beds needed, go back to normal numbers, where they were available for planned post operative care/trauma/other emergencies, although it would be good to have a little more flex in the system. I do think that some of the public think that the number of ITU/critical care beds have remained the same.

@Fembot123 I thought your first sentence was serious for a second there!

I agree though, would like some clearer data