Complication patterns and postoperative outcomes in surgical patients admitted to intensive care units

To analyze the frequency and types of postoperative complications and risk factors for in-hospital mortality.

This retrospective longitudinal study included adult patients who underwent surgical procedures and were admitted to the intensive care unit of a university hospital between March and July 2022. Study variables included sociodemographic, clinical, and epidemiological data; postoperative complications and hospital outcomes. The significance level was set at 5%.

We analyzed 202 patients, with a median age of 67 years (IQR 55-74) and a predominance of males (62.4%). Inhospital mortality was 26.2%. Postoperative complications occurred in 84.7% of patients, with cardiovascular (53.4%), infectious (49.5%), and gastrointestinal (48.5%) complications being the most frequent. Early postoperative feeding was initiated in 34.2% of cases, and a delay was associated with a higher risk of complications. Nausea and vomiting prophylaxis were administered to most patients-intraoperatively in 61.9% and postoperatively in 96%. In logistic regression analysis, female sex, urgent surgery, and higher SAPS 3 scores were identified as independent risk factors for death.

Postoperative complications were highly prevalent and associated with an increased risk of death. Intra-operative nausea and vomiting prophylaxis and early postoperative feeding were associated with a lower frequency of complications. Identified risk factors for mortality included female sex, higher SAPS 3 scores, and urgent surgeries.