Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Briassoulis, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hatzis, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Briassoulis, G.
Right arrow Articles by Hatzis, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Q J Med 2004; 97: 507-518
QJM vol. 97 no. 8 © Association of Physicians 2004; all rights reserved.

Acute and chronic paediatric intensive care patients: current trends and perspectives on resource utilization

G. Briassoulis, O. Filippou, L. Natsi, M. Mavrikiou and T. Hatzis

From the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, ‘Aghia Sophia’ Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece

Received 22 December 2003 and in revised form 28 April 2004

Background: Advances in paediatric critical care have resulted in increased survival of critically ill patients, many of whom require long-term ventilation as a means of life support.

Aim: To determine current trends in resource utilization, and problems in the care of acute and chronic paediatric intensive care patients.

Design: Open observational study.

Methods: We evaluated consecutive admissions (n = 1629) to a 10-bed paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) over a 5-year period. Three previously defined criteria for resource utilization were used: mean length of stay (LOS); length of mechanical ventilation (LOMV); and LOMV/LOS ratio.

Results: A total of 10 310 patient bed days and 5223 ventilator days were used. Mean LOS increased from 5.3 ± 12 days in 1998 to 8.7 ± 27 days in 2001 (p < 0.05). Although LOMV/LOS ratio (50.7%) was significantly correlated with Paediatric Risk of Mortality score (p < 0.0001), there was no significant change in mortality rate (12.6% vs. 12%). Patients hospitalized for >2 weeks (n = 320, 20%) used 55% of LOS and 57% of LOMV, in contrast to the 1298 (80%) hospitalized for <7 days, who used only 29% of LOS and 20% of LOMV. Patients hospitalized for >3 months (11, 0.7%) consumed 17% of LOS and 23% of LOMV. Five of these (45%) were eventually discharged home, two on ventilators.

Conclusions: The increasing trend of occupation of PICU bed and ventilator days by critically ill children may be related to the increasing trend for hospitalization of chronic care patients. Severity scoring systems were predictive of resource consumption, but not of the overall trend in mortality rate.

Address correspondence to Dr G. Briassoulis, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, ‘Aghia Sophia’ Children's Hospital, Thivon & Levadias street, Goudi 11527, Athens, Greece. e-mail: briassg{at}otenet.gr


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.