Predictors of intensive care unit refusal in French intensive care units: a multiple-center study.
OBJECTIVE
To identify factors associated with granting or refusing intensive care unit (ICU) admission, to analyze ICU characteristics and triage decisions, and to describe mortality in admitted and refused patients.


METHODS
Observational, prospective, multiple-center study.


METHODS
Four university hospitals and seven primary-care hospitals in France.


METHODS
None.


RESULTS
Age, underlying diseases (McCabe score and Knaus class), dependency, hospital mortality, and ICU characteristics were recorded. The crude ICU refusal rate was 23.8% (137/574), with variations from 7.1% to 63.1%. The reasons for refusal were too well to benefit (76/137, 55.4%), too sick to benefit (51/137, 37.2%), unit too busy (9/137, 6.5%), and refusal by the family (1/137). In logistic regression analyses, two patient-related factors were associated with ICU refusal: dependency (odds ratio [OR], 14.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.27-38.25; p < .0001) and metastatic cancer (OR, 5.82; 95% CI, 2.22-15.28). Other risk factors were organizational, namely, full unit (OR, 3.16; 95% CI, 1.88-5.31), center (OR, 3.81; 95% CI, 2.27-6.39), phone admission (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.14-0.40), and daytime admission (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.32-0.84). The Standardized Mortality Ratio was 1.41 (95% CI, 1.19-1.69) for immediately admitted patients, 1.75 (95% CI, 1.60-1.84) for refused patients, and 1.03 (95% CI, 0.28-1.75) for later-admitted patients.


CONCLUSIONS
ICU refusal rates varied greatly across ICUs and were dependent on both patient and organizational factors. Efforts to define ethically optimal ICU admission policies might lead to greater homogeneity in refusal rates, although case-mix variations would be expected to leave an irreducible amount of variation across ICUs.
Garrouste-Orgeas
Maité
M
Medical-Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Saint Joseph Hospital, Paris, France.
Montuclard
Luc
L
Timsit
Jean-François
JF
Reignier
Jean
J
Desmettre
Thibault
T
Karoubi
Philippe
P
Moreau
Delphine
D
Montesino
Laurent
L
Duguet
Alexandre
A
Boussat
Sandrine
S
Ede
Christophe
C
Monseau
Yannick
Y
Paule
Thierry
T
Misset
Benoit
B
Carlet
Jean
J
D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006786:Hospitals, Urban / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016079:Refusal to Treat / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014218:Triage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data