The results of the present study suggest that elderly age
has no significant impact on the rate of discharge to home
of surviving patients successfully weaned from mechanical
ventilation. Elderly patients frequently suffer from one or
more severe chronic illnesses before hospitalization, and
are therefore less able to meet the physiological demands
of critical illness35). Morbidity and mortality are higher
among elderly patients than among younger patients admitted
to the ICU36). In addition, the pivotal prospective
studies on early mobilization of mechanically ventilated
patients only included patients with a mean age of 50–60
years13, 17). Therefore, the conclusion of these previous, that
early mobilization provides had few benefits for mechanically
ventilated elderly patients, despite the lack of direct
evidence of a correlation between age and outcomes of early
mobilization22). Based on our results, we recommend that
the indication for early mobilization should not be based on
a patient’s age alone.