How Effective are Intensive Care Unit Beds Used in Our Region?

Özet

Objective: The demand for critical care facilities is also growing in our country. The aim of the present study was to investigate the incidence andcauses of inappropriate admissions to adult intensive care units (ICUs) in our region to facilitate the planning of bed numbers.Methods: A team of specialists made an unannounced visit to level 1, 2 and 3 adult ICUs in 12 hospitals in our region between June 2014 andJanuary 2015. A total of 290 ICU patients were evaluated.Results: The rate of inappropriate ICU admission was 55.9%, and the most common reason was the lack of a lower level ICU. Palliative patientscomprised 35.5% of the ICU patients, 68% of whom should have been in home care. The rate of inappropriate admission was 16.7% higher inopen ICUs than in closed ICUs.Conclusion: Our results indicate that instead of increasing the number of beds in level 2 and 3 ICUs, hospitals should increase the number of level1 ICU beds. In addition, we believe that the existing beds could be utilised more effectively if all ICUs implemented a closed management style andif there was better coordination between ICUs.