Pacientes centenarios en el entorno hospitalario: propuesta para una ruta de atención en una institución de alta complejidad

Demographic changes since the 19th century have been associated with a progressive increase in life expectancy, better survival of those over 80 years of age, and an increase in the centenarian population, creating a global demographic challenge with consequences at the individual, family, and social levels. Likewise, for health care, the challenges and needs that extreme longevity has brought are evident, determined by chronic diseases, the degree of dependency and fragility, the heterogeneity of aging and the limited number of geriatricians who can guarantee its comprehensive approach. In this framework, we present a review of the current situation of health care for centenarian patients and a proposed route based on the management of complex morbidity and the detection of individual and palliative needs of this population group.