title: [How to describe activities in critical care. French Multicenter Study Group in Critical Care].
abstract: The types of intensive care are many and varied, and the aim of this study is to apply the same method to describing the activity of different ICU. 38 ICU were selected by cooptation rather than randomization, and the data collected concerned input (age, previous health status, simplified acute physiology score or SAPS, intensive care group, processes [TISS points]), percentage of ventilated patients, percentage of pulmonary arterial lines and outcome (ICU death rate). The three intensive care groups were A (medical, i.e. all nonsurgical patients), B (surgical, i.e. patients operated on during the week preceding or following ICU admission) and C (surgical scheduled or elective, admission scheduled at least 24 hours before). 3687 patients in the study were classified as follows: A 2175, B 885 and C 627. The first part of the results concerned the differences in intensive care groups. Inputs, processes and outcome were very different in the three groups, particularly in group C (elective) where the therapeutic level was higher for low SAPS and mortality lower for high SAPS. The second part of the results concerned the differences between intensive care units. In intermediate units the patients were older, less severely ill and mainly medical. Surgical patients had a better previous health status, were younger and were scheduled in 40% of cases. TISS points were higher, there was a higher rate of ventilated patients and patients with pulmonary artery lines on the first day. Results in specialized units depended mainly on the intensive care groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D003625:Data Collection; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010361:Patients / Q000145:classification; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative
vernacular_title: Comment décrire l'activité en réanimation. Groupe français d'études multicentriques en réanimation.