Outcome of intensive care patients in a group of British intensive care units

Abstract

Early identification of patients at risk, both before admission and after discharge from the ICU, may allow treatment to decrease mortality. Research and resources may be best directed at patients who die, despite a relatively low predicted mortality. Although these patients are a small percentage of the low-risk admissions, they constitute a large number of ICU deaths. Many patients die after discharge from ICU and this mortality may be decreased by minimizing inappropriate early discharge to the ward, by the provision of high-dependency and step-down units, and by continuing advice and follow-up by the ICU team after the patient has been discharged. Intervention before ICU admission and support of patients after discharge from the ICU should be part of the effort to decrease mortality for ICU patients. Inadequate provision of resources for critically ill patients may result in excess intensive care mortality that is not detected with ICU outcome prediction methods.