Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of prolonged length of stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) on the mortality and morbidity of surgical patients.
Methods: We performed a monocentric and retrospective observational study in the surgical critical care unit of the department of surgery at the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg, Germany. Clinical data was collected from patients assigned to the ICU with a length of stay (LOS) of 90 days and greater.
Results: From the total of the 19 patients with ICU LOS over 90 days, ten patients died in the ICU whereas nine patients were discharged to the normal ward. The ICU mortality rate was 52%. The overall survival one year after ICU discharge was 32%. Regarding factors affecting mortality of the patients, significantly higher mortality was associated with age of the patients at the time point of the ICU admission and with postoperative need of renal replacement therapy.
Conclusions: We found a high but in our opinion acceptable mortality rate in surgical patients with ICU LOS of 90 days and greater. We identified age and the need of renal replacement therapy as risk factors for mortality.