Determinants of Mortality of Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Debre Berhan Comprehensive Specialized Hospital: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The provision of intensive care services is advancing globally. However, in resource-limited settings, it is lagging far behind and intensive care unit mortality is still higher due to various reasons. This study aimed to assess determinants of mortality among medical patients admitted to the intensive care unit.

Methods: A five-year facility-based retrospective Cohort Study was conducted. A total of 546 medical patients admitted to the intensive care unit from March 2017 to February 2022 were included. Document review using a structured questionnaire was implemented to collect data. Data entered into Epi Data were analyzed by STATA and summarized using frequency tables and graphs. Binary and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify determinants of mortality.

Results: The overall mortality was 35.9%. Approximately half of the deaths were attributed to septic shock, congestive heart failure, severe community-acquired pneumonia, and stroke. The most common immediate cause of death was cardio-respiratory arrest. Source of admission, GCS level at admission, duration of ICU stay, treatment with inotropes, septic shock, and retroviral infection status were found to have a statistically significant association with ICU mortality.

Conclusion and recommendations: This study revealed a significantly higher mortality rate among patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Early identification and admission of patients to the intensive care unit are important factors that could decrease mortality. Patient selection is essential since some patients with a high likelihood of mortality might not benefit from intensive care unit admission in an area with high resource limitations.