SCCMPod-567 CCM: Caring for Older Adults in the ICU

SCCMPod-567 CCM: Caring for Older Adults in the ICU

From SCCM Podcast by Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)

May 14, 2026 · 27 min · Episode 567

About this episode

This episode discusses new guidelines for caring for older adults in the ICU and the challenges in researching this patient demographic.

Older adults consist of approximately half of the patients in the ICU, with that number expected to grow in the coming decades. In this episode of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Podcast, host Marilyn N. Bulloch, PharmD, BCPS, FCCM, is joined by Bram Rochwerg, MD, MSc(Epi), FRCPC, FCCM, and Lauren E. Ferrante, MD, MHS, to discusses new guidelines on caring for older adults in the ICU and the difficulties in finding research that focuses on those patients. The guidelines, “Society of Critical Care Medicine Guidelines on Caring for Older Adults in the ICU,” will be published in an upcoming issue of Critical Care Medicine. The panel details the process and methodology behind the guidelines, the dearth of studies focusing on older patients in the ICU, and the difficulty of finding studies that enroll older adults who are on multiple medications. The guidelines offer two conditional recommendations and offer priorities for aging-friendly research topics to help provide stronger guidance in the future. Bram Rochwerg, MD, MSc(Epi), FRCPC, FCCM, is an associate professor, intensivist, and researcher based at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, who focuses on…

People in this episode

Host: Marilyn N. Bulloch, PharmD, BCPS, FCCM

Guests: Bram Rochwerg, MD, MSc(Epi), FRCPC, FCCM, Lauren E. Ferrante, MD, MHS

Topics covered

  • caring for older adults
  • ICU guidelines
  • critical care
  • research challenges
  • aging-friendly research

Keywords

  • older adults
  • ICU
  • guidelines
  • critical care medicine
  • research
  • medications
  • sepsis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Society of Critical Care Medicine

Books & works: Critical Care Medicine

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