Full-Time ICU Staff in the Intensive Care Unit: Does It Improve the Outcome?

Patients with various severities are cared for in the intensive care unit (ICU) by an experienced ICU physician. We aimed to assess whether there is any difference in intubated ICU patient management when undertaken by a 24-hour intensivist versus a periodic experienced specialist in the ICU.

A retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study was done in a tertiary teaching hospital ICU. Patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) were classified into: group 1, managed by an experienced ICU pulmonary specialist during night shifts in 2006-2007, and group 2, managed by an intensivist around the clock in 2011. Patients were excluded if they were <18 years old, tracheostomized, or transferred from another ICU. Patient demographics and ICU data (IMV duration, sedation doses and duration, weekend extubation, ICU severity score [APACHE II], length of ICU stay, and mortality) were recorded, and groups were compared.

In group 1, 131 of 215 IMV patients were included in the study, and in group 2, 294 of 374 patients were included. The sedation infusion rate, duration of IMV, self-extubation rate, and lenght of stay (LOS) of ICU were significantly increased in group 1 compared with group 2 (72.5% vs. 40.8%, p<0.0001; 152 vs. 68 hours, p<0.001; 24.4% vs. 13.9%, p<0.006; 13 vs. 8 days, p<0.0001, respectively). The weekend extubation rate and APACHE II scores were significantly lower in group 1 compared with group 2 (7.1% vs. 25.3%, p<0.0001; 22 vs. 25, p<0.017, respectively). Mortality rates were similar in the two groups (35.9% vs. 37.4%, p=0.76).

A 24-hour intensivist appears to be better for decreasing IMV duration and LOS in the ICU. These results may be useful to address decreasing morbidity and, as a result, cost of ICU stays by 24-hour intensivist coverage, especially for patients with IMV.