Epidemiological trends in the neurological intensive care unit from 2000 to 2008

Abstract Intensive care units (ICU) specializing in the treatment of patients with neurological diseases (Neuro-ICU) have become increasingly common. However, there are few data on the longitudinal demographics of this patient population. Identifying admission trends may provide targets for improving resource utilization. We performed a retrospective analysis of admission logs for primary diagnosis, age, sex, and length of stay, for all patients admitted to the Neuro-ICU at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) between 2000 and 2008. From 2000 to 2008, inclusive, the total number of Neuro-ICU admissions increased by 49.9%. Overall mean patient age (54.6 ± 17.4 to 56.2 ± 18.0 years, p  = 0.041) and gender (55.9–50.3% female, p  = 0.005) changed significantly, while median length of stay (2 days) did not. When comparing the time period prior to construction of a larger Neuro-ICU (2000–2004) to that after completion (2005–2008), patient age (56.0 ± 17.6 compared to 56.9 ± 17.5 years, p  = 0.012) and median length of stay (1 compared to 2 days, p