Original Article

Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MJIRI) Iran University of Medical Sciences

http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir

Short stay in general intensive care units: is it always necessary? Mojtaba Sedaghat Siyahkal1, Farnaz Khatami2 Received: 16 April 2014

Accepted: 27 July 2014

Published: 8 December 2014

Abstract

Background: There are challenges ahead of short-term hospitalization of low-risk patients hospitalized only for monitoring of severe disease who may die soon after admission. The purpose of this study was to suggest strategies for the management of ICU stay lengths and to ensure optimal use of ICU resources. Methods: The study was conducted retrospectively on 246 patients admitted to 9 general ICUs in Tehran, from September 2011 to March 2012. Patients staying for ≤2 days in the ICU were compared to each other after being categorized into two medical and surgical groups. Results: Of 129 patients with ≤2 days ICU stay (52.4%), 88.4% survived. Of these, 25 (19.4%) were placed in the medical and 104 (80.6%) to surgical groups. Survival rates were significantly greater in surgical group; only 7.7% of them were in need of mechanical ventilation in the first 24 hours of admission (p