Eroglu A, et al. (2016) Factors Impacting the Likelihood of Death in Patients in Intensive Care Unit. Int J Anesth Res. 4(4), 225-228. 225 OPEN ACCESS http://scidoc.org/IJAR.php International Journal of Anesthesiology & Research (IJAR) ISSN 2332-2780 Factors Impacting the Likelihood of Death in Patients in Intensive Care Unit Research Article Saylan S 1 , Kostakoglu U 2 , Karatas M 3 , Yilmaz G 4 , Eroglu A 1* 1 Karadeniz Technical University, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey. 2 Kanuni Training Hospital, Infectious Disease, Trabzon, Turkey. 3 Kanuni Training Hospital Chest Disease, Trabzon, Turkey. 4 Karadeniz Technical University Infectious Disease, Trabzon, Turkey. Introduction Intensive care units (ICUs) with technologically advanced equipment and 24-hour monitoring of vital signs aim to treat patients with a need for intensive care due to dysfunctions in one or more organs or organ systems [1, 2]. Patients hospitalized in these units often have multiple diseases, and acute problems associated with these need to be treated. High mortality rates are the most signiicant problem during this treatment in the ICU [2, 3]. Many factors, such as reasons for hospitalization in the ICU, invasive mechanical ventilation requirements, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE-II) score, hospital infections, trauma, old age, concomitant systemic diseases and length of stay in the ICU, all affect mortality [2, 3]. This study was intended to evaluate the factors affecting mortality in patients treated in ICUs and to determine the measures needing to be taken to reduce mortality rates. Abstract Background and Purpose: Intensive care units are special treatment units with high-tech equipment developed for the treatment and follow up of life-threatening organ failure seen in the course of both chronic and acute illnesses. These units have the highest mortality rates among hospital sections. To evaluate the factors affecting mortality in patients treated in ICUs and to determine the measures needed to reduce mortality rates. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was performed using patient iles, ICU records, infection control committee surveillance data and information processing data between 1 January - 31 December, 2013, at the Kanuni Education and Research Hospital. Results: Average length of hospitalization was 17.3 ± 20.6 days. Mean Charlson co-morbidity index was 3.1 ± 1.8, and mean APACHE II score 19.7 ± 3.0. Four hundred ninety-seven patients (61.4%) died. The mortality rate was 23.7 per 1000 patient days. APACHE II score, the presence of nosocomial infections, and cerebrovascular disease were identiied as inde- pendent risk factors affecting mortality in multivariable analysis. Mortality rate predicted by APACHE II score was 45.6%. The standardized mortality rate was 1.35. Hospitalization exceeded 48 hours in 566 patients, and 309 nosocomial infections developed in 205 of these. The nosocomial infection rate was 25.4 per 1000 patient days. Conclusion: High APACHE II score, Charlson co-morbidity index and nosocomial infections are the most important factors affecting mortality. It is vitally important that infection should be prevented in to reduce mortality rates, and ap- propriate treatment should be initiated at once in the presence of infection. Therefore, in addition to the development of rapid diagnostic methods, training should be provided to increase hospital management and personnel awareness of the importance of the subject. Communication between units should be enhanced, and intensive care conditions and services should be improved. Keywords: Intensive Care; Mortality; Infection *Corresponding Author: Dr. Ahmet Eroglu, Karadeniz Technical University, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Trabzon, Turkey, E-mail: aheroglu@hotmail.com Received: March 06, 2016 Accepted: April 11, 2016 Published: April 14, 2016 Citation: Eroglu A, et al. (2016) Factors Impacting the Likelihood of Death in Patients in Intensive Care Unit. Int J Anesth Res. 4(4), 225-228. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.19070/2332-2780-1600051 Copyright: Eroglu A © 2016. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.