Caring for critically ill patients in need of life-sustaining support has become a specialty of its
own over the last 40 years. Critical care medicine has shown value to patients and care
organizations by improving outcomes, controlling cost, and investigating and applying
therapy in an evidenced-based manner. Because of changing demographics, critical care of
the geriatric patient will become commonplace over the next 30 years. The intensivist must
understand physiologic changes associated with aging, manage common comorbid states …