Intensive care outflow limitationfrequency, etiology, and impact

Abstract Objective: To assess the frequency, causes, and effect of unsuccessful discharge decisions from the ICU. Setting: An 11-bed general intensive care unit of a 750-bed urban university hospital, tertiary referral center and level one trauma center. Design: A prospective, observational study. Patients: All ICU patients judged appropriate for discharge by the ICU attending physician. Measurements and results: A total of 856 attempted discharges in 706 patients were analyzed over 16 months. Of these, 703 (82%) were successful within 24 hours. Of the remaining 153 unsuccessful discharges, 51 (33%) were deferred because of medical deterioration, 32 (21%) at the request of the ward physicians or nurses and 70 (46%) because of administrative difficulties (lack of ward bed space or disagreement over admitting service). When compared to patients successfully discharged on the first attempt, those whose discharge was deferred had a significantly longer ICU admission prior to the first discharge attempt (median 4d v 3d, P = .009), and a higher proportion required intermediate care (48% v 26%, P P = .0001, OR 2.05 95%CI 1.30, 3.26, P = .002, respectively). Deferred discharges accounted for 153 days of ICU care (2.6% of the total) and were associated with ICU overflow on 118 days (2% of all ICU days). Conclusion: ICU outflow limitation occurs in up to 1 in 6 discharges. It can be due to medical deterioration, level of care issues or administrative problems, and may lead to inefficient use of ICU resources.