Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the prognosis of patients with systemic rheumatic disease diagnosed in medical intensive care unit (MICU) and to determine whether the outcome is different for patients with systemic rheumatic disease previously known hospitalized in MICU.
Methods: Retrospective evaluation, over a ten-year period, of 88 cases of systemic rheumatic disease selected in two groups: group I: diagnosed in MICU, group II: previously known and treated.
Results: Group I: 18 patients with necrotizing vasculitis (n = 6), extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (n = 4), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 3), miscellaneous (n = 5). Group II: 70 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 31), necrotizing vasculitis (n = 12), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 12), polymyositis (n = 4), extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease (n = 5), miscellaneous (n = 6). The main admission diagnoses were infectious diseases (p < 0.005) or iatrogenic complications in the group II (p < 0.01) and acute exacerbation of systemic rheumatic disease in the group I (p < 0.0001). Age; simplified acute physiologic score (SAPS); number of acute organ system failure; number of patients requiring mechanical ventilation, haemodialysis or right heart catheterization were not different between the two groups. The durations of mechanical ventilation and stay in the MICU were shorter in the group II (p < 0.005). MICU mortality rate was higher in the group II (p < 0.05), with a five years cumulative proportion of surviving statistically lower (p < 0.05). Mortality rate of the entire population (37.5%) was similar to that of a non-selected population with comparable SAPS. Multivariate analysis showed that SAPS, number of acute organ system failure and iatrogenic complications were the main prognostic factors (p = 0.05).
Conclusions: The prognosis was better for patients with systemic rheumatic disease diagnosed in MICU. Infectious diseases were the main cause of death, probably in relation with immunosuppressive treatments.