Abstract
BACKGROUND: The intensive care unit (ICU) is an area within a medical facility equipped with advanced technologies such as ventilators and personnel trained to provide intensive, advanced life-supportive care to critically ill patients. These units can be general or specialized. Intensive care beds are always in demand in any tertiary care center. Getting ICU beds is a challenging task. In 2008, the cost of critical care was 17-39% of hospital costs and 5.2-11% of the total healthcare budget. On one hand, where needy patients do not get ICU beds, there are instances when patients are kept just for observation in intensive care. So, we planned this study to analyze our status regarding the effective utilization of medical intensive care beds.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To audit our admissions and discharges on the grounds of the criteria laid by the American Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) in the year 2016, and to strengthen our admission and discharge policies with standard protocols to make the best utilization for society.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospectively, we analyzed the medical records of 6 months (July 1-December 31, 2021). We analyze admission criteria and discharges in those patients. We recorded the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, the quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score, the length of stay in ICU, the total length of stay, and the outcomes of the patients. The analysis was done with SPSS.
RESULTS: We collected records of 355 patients admitted in the medicine ICU during the defined period. There was a male preponderance in our study. The mean age of patients admitted was 54.75 ± 17.53 (range 16-82). Most patients were transferred in from the ward (53.5%), and the rest (46.5%) were directly from the emergency department. When we categorized the patients' admission according to ACCM Guidelines, 39.4% of patients were in category I, 11.3% patients in category II, 36.6% in category III, 7% in category IV, and 5.6% in category V. When we compared the SOFA score along with the admissions category, there was no significant association. Mean ICU length of stay was 6.11 ± 4.99. There was no association found between the category of admission and the mean ICU length of stay. Overall, out of 355 patients, 255 patients (71.8%) transferred out, 20 patients (5.6%), and 80 patients (22.6%) could not be saved. In our study, 80.3% of transfers out were unplanned (this also includes the death of patients). There was a significant association between the admission category of patients and their outcome in the ICU.
CONCLUSION: The intensive care unit is an expensive setup. It is yet to be used in its maximum capacity for those who really need it. Triaging patients for the ICU is a must for better utilization of resources. Admissions and discharge policies should be followed stringently for optimum utilization of facilities.