RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Evaluation of paediatric intensive care in a regional centre.
JF Archives of Disease in Childhood
JO Arch Dis Child
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
SP 1043
OP 1046
DO 10.1136/adc.66.9.1043
VO 66
IS 9
A1 J McAloon
A1 P Crean
A1 J Jenkins
A1 G McClure
YR 1991
UL http://adc.bmj.com/content/66/9/1043.abstract
AB All 162 consecutive admissions to a multidisciplinary paediatric intensive care unit in the UK have been prospectively evaluated in terms of therapeutic intention, sickness levels, age, utilisation of resources, and outcome. For 101 (62.3%) of the children admitted the aim of treatment was to cure the condition but for 30 (18.5%) ultimately only a palliative option was available. Five children were admitted to avail of specialised monitoring facilities. One half of the children admitted were physiologically unstable. The majority (102, 62.9%) were age 12 months or less. Resource utilisation, which was not affected by therapeutic intention, was greatest for the sickest patients, those age 1 month or less and non-survivors. Mortality rate overall was 17.9%. Mortality was unaffected by age and therapeutic intention and was inversely related to level of sickness. The information provided by this study forms a basis for medical audit within the unit and is essential for meaningful comparisons of standards of care and outcome with other units.