Outcome in patients with long-term treatment in a surgical intensive care unit

This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of patients with abdominal, thoracic or vascular operations and long-term intensive care unit (ICU) treatment.

The present retrospective observational cohort study was performed at the authors' surgical ICU at the Marburg University Medical Centre. All patients who stayed at the ICU longer than 48 h and underwent visceral, thoracic or vascular surgery between January 2005 and December 2006 were retrospectively analysed. Patients with an ICU stay of 20 or more days were defined as the long-term study group. Clinical variables were tested for prognostic value.

In 2 years, 852 patients were treated at the intensive care unit. Follow-up was available in 502 patients, with 219 patients treated for two and more days and a median of 16.4 days. Sixty-seven long-term patients were compared to 152 (69.4 %) patients treated between 2 and 20 days. Overall survival after 12 months was 50.2 % (110/219), while 65.8 % (144/219) were discharged from ICU. Older age, longer treatment at the ICU and increased simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) at admission were associated with decreased 12-month survival, while no statistical differences were observed for the underlying and malignant disease by univariate analysis. The risk of death was 29, 56 and 61 % for patients treated 2-4, 5-19 and ≥20 days at the ICU. Decreased survival of patients treated for 5-19 and ≥20 days were confirmed by logrank test (p = 0.001).

Patients with long-term ICU stay showed decreased survival than patients who are treated less than 5 days but similar survival as patients which stayed between 5 and 19 days. Malignant disease is not associated with an unfavourable 12-month survival while older age, higher SAPS index at discharge and longer stay at ICU are. Long-term ICU survivors have no increased risk to succumb after discharge from ICU.