Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 1981 Dec;3(2):49-64.

The use of intensive care: a comparison of a university and community hospital

E A Draper, D P Wagner, W A Knaus
Comparative Study

The use of intensive care: a comparison of a university and community hospital

E A Draper et al. Health Care Financ Rev. 1981 Dec.

Abstract

We compared 223 consecutive intensive care unit (ICU) admissions to a community hospital (CH) with 613 such admissions at a university hospital (UH) using a new clinical scale aimed at quantifying severity of illness. Both ICU's had similar technical resources and treatment capabilities. At the CH, however, patients were more often admitted for monitoring rather than for treatment of UH admissions had a substantially greater acute severity of illness (p less than .001) than CH patients in most diagnostic categories. These findings suggest that use of the ICU was substantially different in the two hospitals, with the CH admitting many more stable patients. This study also suggests that evaluation of ICU use is improved by quantitative measurement of severity of illness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure A-1
Figure A-1. Relationship Between Acute Physiology Score and Death Rate
Figure 1
Figure 1. Comparison of Pre-Admission Health Status of ICU Admissions to a University and Community Hospital
Figure 2
Figure 2. Percentage Distribution of ICU Admissions by Severity of Illness and Therapy Received in a University and Community Hospital
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Hospital Association. Hospital Statistics, 1980 Edition. Chicago, Illinois: 1980.
    1. Byrick PJ, Mindorff C, McKee L, et al. Cost-effectiveness of Intensive Care for Respiratory Failure Patients. Critical Care Medicine. 1980;8:332. - PubMed
    1. Cullen DJ, Civetta JM, Briggs BA, et al. Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System: A Method for Quantitative Comparison of Patient Care. Critical Care Medicine. 1974;2:57. - PubMed
    1. Cullen DJ, Ferrara LC, Briggs BA, et al. Survival, Hospitalization Charges and Follow-up Results in Critically III Patients. New England Journal of Medicine. 1976;294:982. - PubMed
    1. Department of Public Health, State of Massachusetts. Determination of Need Guidelines for Intensive and Coronary Care Units. 1978

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources