PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to assess the data on clinical outcomes for critically ill patients admitted to Australian and New Zealand intensive care units in comparison to information available for similar patients in other counties RECENT FINDINGS: Australia and New Zealand have been collecting standardized data intensive care unit admissions for over a decade. The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Database Management Committee has developed a high quality database of close to 600 000 adult intensive care unit admissions. Although comparisons suffer from significant methodological, case-mix and process differences, which make their findings easily subject to criticism, interrogation of this database and of data from clusters of intensive care units within this system consistently yields patient outcomes, which are better than outcomes reported from other nations or international studies for similar patients. In addition, Australia and New Zealand has now achieved the highest rate of patient enrollment in an investigator-initiated multicentre randomized controlled trials. SUMMARY: Although comparisons in outcome between Australia and New Zealand intensive care units and other units worldwide may not have sufficient scientific rigour to truly reflect better national outcomes, many features of Australian and New Zealand units are unique and worthy of consideration by other national systems as they consider their strategic national goals for the next decade.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to assess the data on clinical outcomes for critically illpatients admitted to Australian and New Zealand intensive care units in comparison to information available for similar patients in other counties RECENT FINDINGS: Australia and New Zealand have been collecting standardized data intensive care unit admissions for over a decade. The Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Database Management Committee has developed a high quality database of close to 600 000 adult intensive care unit admissions. Although comparisons suffer from significant methodological, case-mix and process differences, which make their findings easily subject to criticism, interrogation of this database and of data from clusters of intensive care units within this system consistently yields patient outcomes, which are better than outcomes reported from other nations or international studies for similar patients. In addition, Australia and New Zealand has now achieved the highest rate of patient enrollment in an investigator-initiated multicentre randomized controlled trials. SUMMARY: Although comparisons in outcome between Australia and New Zealand intensive care units and other units worldwide may not have sufficient scientific rigour to truly reflect better national outcomes, many features of Australian and New Zealand units are unique and worthy of consideration by other national systems as they consider their strategic national goals for the next decade.
Authors: Georg Heinrich Kluge; Sylvia Brinkman; Giel van Berkel; Johannes van der Hoeven; Crétien Jacobs; Yvonne E M Snel; John P W Vogelaar; Nicolette F de Keizer; Emiel S Boon Journal: Intensive Care Med Date: 2015-01-20 Impact factor: 17.440
Authors: Louise Rose; Bronagh Blackwood; Ingrid Egerod; Hege Selnes Haugdahl; José Hofhuis; Michael Isfort; Kalliopi Kydonaki; Maria Schubert; Riccardo Sperlinga; Peter Spronk; Sissel Storli; Daniel F McAuley; Marcus J Schultz Journal: Crit Care Date: 2011-12-14 Impact factor: 9.097
Authors: Lilian Maria Sobreira Tanaka; Luciano Cesar Pontes Azevedo; Marcelo Park; Guilherme Schettino; Antonio Paulo Nassar; Alvaro Réa-Neto; Luana Tannous; Vicente Ces de Souza-Dantas; André Torelly; Thiago Lisboa; Claudio Piras; Frederico Bruzzi Carvalho; Marcelo de Oliveira Maia; Fabio Poianas Giannini; Flavia Ribeiro Machado; Felipe Dal-Pizzol; Alexandre Guilherme Ribeiro de Carvalho; Ronaldo Batista dos Santos; Paulo Fernando Guimarães Morando Marzocchi Tierno; Marcio Soares; Jorge Ibrain Figueira Salluh Journal: Crit Care Date: 2014-07-21 Impact factor: 9.097