Clinical performance and resource utilization in the start of a totally new Intensive Care Unit. Same staff, new area

There is little information of intensive care unit (ICU) performance when it's relocated to a totally new and equipped area.

To analyze the clinical performance and use of resources of a new respiratory-ICU (nRICU) in a large third-level care hospital.

Cross-sectional, comparative study using prospective data of patients admitted from July 17, 2017 to July 17, 2018. The Rapoport adjusted method was used to obtain the standardized clinical performance index (SCPI) and the standardized resource use index (SRUI).

Out of 354 patients, those who were readmissions or remained hospitalized and those whose treatment was withheld or withdrawn where excluded from the analysis. In 301 patients, the observed survival at hospital discharge was 63% while the expected survival was 67.7%. Values of SCPI and SRUI were -1.03 and 0.05 respectively, placing results in coordinates within two standard deviations when plotted in the Rapoport chart. There was a statistically significant difference in survival when comparing the study period with outcomes obtained in the RICU before its relocation (63% vs. 55%, p = 0.01).

In its 1st year of operation, the nRICU had better clinical performance compared to the former RICU, with no change in the use of resources.