Clinical Profile, Indications, and Maternal Outcomes of Obstetric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Admissions: A Retrospective Study With Emphasis on Critical Care Interventions

BackgroundMaternal morbidity and mortality continue to pose considerable problems to global health systems, especially in developing countries like India.The monitoring of the number of patients admitted to obstetric intensive care units (ICU) is an important measure of the incidence of severe maternal morbidity and the quality of emergency obstetric care available to patients. ObjectiveTo improve maternal health care services, there must be an understanding of the clinical characteristics, reasons for admission, and outcomes of these patients. MethodsA retrospective observational study was conducted in the obstetric ICU of a tertiary care teaching hospital from January 2025 through December 2025.A total of 120 obstetric patients (pregnant women and women within 42 days postpartum) admitted to the ICU were included.Information regarding patients' demographic characteristics, obstetric profile, reasons for ICU admission, critical care interventions performed, and maternal outcomes was obtained from medical records.The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, USA). ResultsA total of 120 obstetric patients were admitted to the intensive care unit.Hypertensive disorders were the most common indication for ICU admission (42; 35%), followed by obstetric hemorrhage (36; 30%) and sepsis (18; 15%).Blood transfusion was the most frequently provided critical care intervention (84; 70%), followed by mechanical ventilation (48; 40%), vasopressor support (30; 25%), and dialysis/renal replacement therapy (6; 5%).Overall, 102 (85%) patients recovered and were discharged, while 18 (15%) patients died.Delayed referral, multi-organ dysfunction, and requirement for mechanical ventilation were significantly associated with maternal mortality (all p < 0.001). ConclusionHypertensive disorders and obstetric hemorrhage were the leading indications for obstetric ICU admission.Delayed referral, multi-organ dysfunction, and requirement for mechanical ventilation were significantly associated with maternal mortality.Timely referral and access to multidisciplinary critical care remain important in the management of critically ill obstetric patients.