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. 2020 Aug;89(2):279-288.
doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000002768.

Epidemiological trends of surgical admissions to the intensive care unit in the United States

Victor Vakayil  1 , Nicholas E Ingraham, Alexandria J Robbins, Rebecca Freese, Elise F Northrop, Melissa E Brunsvold, Kathryn M Pendleton, Anthony Charles, Jeffrey G Chipman, Christopher J Tignanelli
Affiliations

Epidemiological trends of surgical admissions to the intensive care unit in the United States

Victor Vakayil et al. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Epidemiologic assessment of surgical admissions into intensive care units (ICUs) provides a framework to evaluate health care system efficiency and project future health care needs.

Methods: We performed a 9-year (2008-2016), retrospective, cohort analysis of all adult admissions to 88 surgical ICUs using the prospectively and manually abstracted Cerner Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Outcomes database. We stratified patients into 13 surgical cohorts and modeled temporal trends in admission, mortality, surgical ICU length of stay (LOS), and change in functional status (FS) using generalized mixed-effects and Quasi-Poisson models to obtain risk-adjusted outcomes.

Results: We evaluated 78,053 ICU admissions and observed a significant decrease in admissions after transplant and thoracic surgery, with a concomitant increase in admissions after otolaryngological and facial reconstructive procedures (all p < 0.05). While overall risk-adjusted mortality remained stable over the study period; mortality significantly declined in orthopedic, cardiac, urologic, and neurosurgical patients (all p < 0.05). Cardiac, urologic, gastrointestinal, neurosurgical, and orthopedic admissions showed significant reductions in LOS (all p < 0.05). The overall rate of FS deterioration increased per year, suggesting ICU-related disability increased over the study period.

Conclusion: Temporal analysis demonstrates a significant change in the type of surgical patients admitted to the ICU over the last decade, with decreasing mortality and LOS in selected cohorts, but an increasing rate of FS deterioration. Improvement in ICU outcomes may highlight the success of health care advancements within certain surgical cohorts, while simultaneously identifying cohorts that may benefit from future intervention. Our findings have significant implications in health care systems planning, including resource and personnel allocation, education, and surgical training.

Level of evidence: Economic/decision, level IV.Epidemiologic, level IV.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest

Victor Vakayil, MBBS, MS - None

Nicholas E. Ingraham, MD - None

Alexandria J. Robbins, MD - None

Rebecca Freese, MS - None

Elise F. Northrop, BA - None

Kathryn Pendleton, MD - None

Melissa Brunsvold, MD - None

Anthony Charles, MD, MPH – None

Jeffrey G. Chipman, MD - None

Christopher J. Tignanelli, MD – None

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria ICU= Intensive Care Unit
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) Log (Incidence rate-ratios) for surgical ICU incidence (B) Log (Incidence rate-ratios) for surgical ICU Mortality (C) Estimates for surgical ICU Length of Stay (D) Log (Incidence rate-ratios) for stationary and declining functional status. Obstetrics and gynecological surgical models did not converge *Breast, soft-tissue, extremity surgery ICU= Intensive Care Unit, GI = Gastrointestinal surgery , ENT = Ear, nose and throat surgery, CI = Confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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