The variability of critical care bed numbers in Europe.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the numbers of critical care beds in Europe and to understand the differences in these numbers between countries when corrected for population size and gross domestic product.


METHODS
Prospective data collection of critical care bed numbers for each country in Europe from July 2010 to July 2011. Sources were identified in each country that could provide data on numbers of critical care beds (intensive care and intermediate care). These data were then cross-referenced with data from international databases describing population size and age, gross domestic product (GDP), expenditure on healthcare and numbers of acute care beds.


RESULTS
We identified 2,068,892 acute care beds and 73,585 (2.8 %) critical care beds. Due to the heterogeneous descriptions of these beds in the individual countries it was not possible to discriminate between intensive care and intermediate care in most cases. On average there were 11.5 critical care beds per 100,000 head of population, with marked differences between countries (Germany 29.2, Portugal 4.2). The numbers of critical care beds per country corrected for population size were positively correlated with GDP (r(2) = 0.16, p = 0.05), numbers of acute care beds corrected for population (r(2) = 0.12, p = 0.05) and the percentage of acute care beds designated as critical care (r(2) = 0.59, p < 0.0001). They were not correlated with the proportion of GDP expended on healthcare.


CONCLUSIONS
Critical care bed numbers vary considerably between countries in Europe. Better understanding of these numbers should facilitate improved planning for critical care capacity and utilization in the future.
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust and University of London, London SW17 0QT, UK. andyr@sgul.ac.uk
A
A
Rhodes
P
P
Ferdinande
H
H
Flaatten
B
B
Guidet
P G
PG
Metnitz
R P
RP
Moreno
D000328:Adult; D001509:Bed Occupancy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003422:Critical Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D007380:Intermediate Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011446:Prospective Studies