Course and outcome of obstetric patients in a general intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: To characterize the course, interventions required to achieve predetermined end-points and outcome of obstetric patients admitted to a general intensive care unit.
METHODS: A retrospective case series study was performed including all pregnant patients admitted to an 8-bed general intensive care unit at a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital over a 4-year period. All patients referred by the obstetricians were admitted. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1, (n = 19) those requiring mechanical ventilatory support and group 2, (n = 27) those requiring intensive monitoring. Data collected included demographics, reason for admission, admission diagnosis, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) and Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS) scores, intensive care unit course, types of interventions used and outcome. End-points of therapy included systolic blood pressure 110-150 mmHg, urine output > or = 1 cc/kg/h and oxygen saturation > 95%.
RESULTS: Over the study period, 46 obstetric patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, representing 0.2% of all deliveries and an intensive care unit utilization rate of 2.3%. Commonest admission diagnoses were pregnancy-induced hypertension and hemorrhage. Reason for admission was mechanical ventilation in 41% while 59% were admitted for monitoring. Median length of stay was 25 +/- 80.9 (mean 48.8) hours. The median APACHE II score was 6 +/- 3.9 (mean 7.24) and the TISS score was > 20 in both groups. Only one patient died (mortality rate 2.3%).
CONCLUSION: Despite a short length of stay and low APACHE score, the high TISS score in obstetric patients admitted for both ventilation and monitoring suggests that these patients require a level of intervention and care typically provided by a general intensive care unit.