title: Mortality patterns in a medical intensive care unit.
abstract: We studied the mortality rate and patterns in a 6-bedded Medical Intensive Care Unit in a busy general hospital. We found a high mortality rate (26% in-ICU and 42% in-hospitalization) and that mortality was strongly associated with the following factors: cardiac arrest, respirator support, duration of stay in ICU, infection and the immunocompromised state. Lack of formal patient selection and entry criteria and Critical-Care Specialists may be contributing factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine IV, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Eng
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Chng
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology