The effect of race and ethnicity on outcomes among patients in the intensive care unit: A comprehensive study involving socioeconomic status and resuscitation preferences*

Abstract

Hospital mortality and intensive care unit length of stay did not differ by race or ethnicity among this diverse cohort of critically ill patients after adjustment for severity of illness, resuscitation status, socioeconomic status, insurance status, and admission type. Black patients had more acute physiologic derangements at intensive care unit admission and were less likely to have a do-not-resuscitate order. These results suggest that among intensive care unit patients, there are no racial or ethnic differences in mortality within individual hospitals. If disparities in intensive care unit care exist, they may be explained by differences in the quality of care provided by hospitals that serve high proportions of minority patients.