Abstract

Many studies have been conducted in the intensive care unit (ICU). But little is known about the outcomes of ICU admissions. This is particularly the case in the ICU of developing countries. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess reasons and outcomes of admissions in the ICU of Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH). A longitudinal study was conducted in the ICU of JUSH from February 7 to April 15, 2011. All patients admitted to the ICU during the study period were followed till discharge or death. Data was coded and entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) windows version 16.0 to generate descriptive statistics. Sixty nine patients admitted to the ICU during the study period were followed prospectively till discharge or death. Diseases of cardiovascular origin (30.4%) followed by surgical interventions (18.8%) were the major reasons of ICU admission. There were 26 (37.7%) deaths during the study period in the ICU. Mortality rate in the ICU was found to be significantly high. Diseases of cardiovascular origin were the major reasons for ICU admission. Hence, responsible bodies need to seek for possible ways of reducing this unacceptably high mortality in the ICU by devising quality control mechanisms.

Key words: Reasons of admission, outcome of admission, intensive care unit.