Characteristics and outcomes of surgical patients admitted to an overnight intensive recovery unit: A retrospective observational study.

2023

Costa-Pinto, Rahul

Yanase, Fumitaka

Kennedy, Lucy M

Talbot, Lachie J

Flanagan, Jeremy Pm

Opdam, Helen I

Ellard, Louise M

Bellomo, Rinaldo

Jones, Daryl A

Enhanced care

high dependency unit

perioperative care

postoperative complications

Journal Article

0000-0003-4007-7849

0000-0003-3859-3537

0000-0003-2233-1532

0000-0002-4506-4388

0000-0002-1650-8939

10.1177/0310057X221105299

Postoperative 'enhanced care' models that sit between critical care and ward-based care may allow for more cost-effective and efficient utilisation of resources for high-risk surgical patients. In this retrospective observational study, we describe an overnight intensive recovery model in a tertiary hospital, termed 'recovery high dependency unit', and the characteristics, treatment, disposition at discharge and in-hospital outcomes of patients admitted to this unit. We included all adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to the recovery high dependency unit for at least one hour between July 2017 and June 2020. Over this three-year period, 1257 patients were included in the study. The median length of stay in the recovery high dependency unit was 12.6 (interquartile range 9.1-15.9) hours and the median length of hospital stay was 8.3 (interquartile range 5.0-17.3) days. Hospital discharge data showed that 1027 (81.7%) patients were discharged home and that 37 (2.9%) patients died. Non-invasive ventilation was delivered to 59 (4.7%) patients and 290 (23.1%) required vasopressor support. A total of 164 patients (13.0%) were admitted to the intensive care unit following their recovery high dependency unit admission. Of the 1093 patients who were discharged to the ward, 70 patients (6.4%) had a medical emergency team call within 24 hours of discharge from the recovery high dependency unit. In this study of a recovery high dependency unit patient cohort, there was a relatively low need for intensive care unit admission postoperatively and a very low incidence of medical emergency team calls post-discharge to the ward. Other institutions may consider the introduction and evaluation of this model in the care of their higher risk surgical patients.

link

Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 2023; 51(1)

Anaesthesia and intensive care

0310-057X