An Audit Of One-Year Intensive Care Practice In A Developing Country

Background: The intensive care unit (ICU) is that part of the hospital where critically ill patients that require advanced airway, respiratory and haemodynamic supports are usually admitted. Intensive care unit admissions which aim at achieving an outcome better than if the patients were admitted into other parts of the hospital however come at a huge cost to the hospital, the personnel and patients' relations. Objective: To audit the indications and outcome of patients admitted into the ICU of the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe, Nigeria. Design: A twelve month retrospective study. Method: Data were extracted from the case notes and the ICU records of the patient and analyzed. Outcome: An effective intensive care unit goes a long way in reducing morbidity and mortality. However, a significant proportion of our ICU admissions and mortality are due to preventable causes. Conclusion: Efforts should be geared at establishing well equipped and intensive ICU in all our major hospitals to reduce morbidity and mortality. Preventable causes of ICU admissions must be minimised to reduce the costs and burden of care of patients.