Multidisciplinary intensive care unit at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital, Mdantsane, Ciskei

The role of a multidisciplinary intensive care unit in respect of patient care in a developing country is described. An analysis of 1,000 admissions to the unit by severity of disease according to the classification system of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (Apache II), and the short-term outcome of the patients is outlined. The most important referring specialties were surgery (62.7%), medicine (23.9%), paediatrics (7%) and obstetrics and gynaecology (6.4%). Despite the shortage of equipment and investigative facilities, 86.1% of patients were discharged in a satisfactory condition.