[The changes of survival of patients hospitalized in a resuscitation service]

In order to define criteria of prognosis for patients hospitalized in intensive care units, 2105 cases of patients treated for an acute life threatening illness for 4 years were reviewed. According to severity of initial illness, 3 groups were defined: Ist one initial illness, presumably reversible (55,3%), IInd, several initial illnesses presumably reversible (27,7%), IIIrd, one or several initial illnesses, with at least one of them presumably irreversible (17%). Total mortality was 31,3%, significantly lower in women than in men. According to groups, mortality was 8,7% in the Ist, 42,7% in the IInd (p less than 0,0001), 88,8% in the IIIrd (p less than 0,0001). In any group prognosis was influenced by the type of initial disease (respiratory, circulatory, renal or metabolic, septic, neurologic and hepato-digestive failure). In groups I and II mortality was greater when high risk factors exist, and is more and more bad with age, but always minus that 50%. In the group III mortality was the same with or without high risk factors, was not influenced by age, and was always near 90%. For 4 years, mortality significantly lowered in the group II, from 57% to 29%. We conclude that treatment in an intensive care unit of life threatening visceral acute failure has a poor result when this later is related to an chronic or non presumably reversible disorder. In other cases high risk factor, particularly old age, is not a contre indication to treatment in an intensive care unit.