Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, Emergency Care / 19.03.2017
Risk Factors for Unplanned Transfer to the ICU after ED Admission
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Marleen Boerma MD
Department of Emergency Medicine
Elisabeth-Tweesteden Hospital
Tilburg, The Netherlands
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Unplanned Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission has been used as a surrogate marker of adverse events, and is used by the Australian Council of Healthcare Accreditation as a reportable quality indicator. If we can identify independent variables predicting deterioration which require ICU transfer within 24 hours after emergency department (ED) admission, direct ICU admission should be considered. This may improve patient safety and reduce adverse events by appropriate disposition of patients presenting to the ED.
This study shows that there were significantly more hypercapnia patients in the ICU admission group (n=17) compared to the non-ICU group (n=5)(p=0.028). There were significantly greater rates of tachypnea in septic patients (p=0.022) and low oxygen saturation for patients with pneumonia (p=0.045). The level of documentation of respiratory rate was poor.
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