title: Critically ill obstetric and gynaecological patients in the intensive care unit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document mortality among critically ill obstetric and gynaecological patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission and to investigate whether any poor prognostic features could allow for earlier and more aggressive intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study of all obstetric and gynaecological patients admitted to the ICU of Johannesburg Hospital between 1985 and 1996. Sixty-one patients were analysed both as a group and as two subgroups--those with incomplete abortions and those with other pregnancy-related diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Derangements in platelet counts, serum creatinine levels and prothrombin international normalised ratio (INR) were present in all patients on the day of admission to hospital. In the group with incomplete abortions absolute levels of these parameters may be used to identify those patients with a worse outcome. The mortality rate was 38%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Early ICU admission and aggressive surgical intervention are strongly recommended in patients with septic incomplete abortions presenting with more than a single organ dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Johannesburg Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D000027:Abortion, Incomplete / Q000628:therapy; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood; D003422:Critical Care; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D019934:International Normalized Ratio; D007902:Length of Stay; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D010343:Patient Admission; D010976:Platelet Count; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011379:Prognosis; D011516:Prothrombin / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D011516:Prothrombin; D003404:Creatinine