• Franziska Peters, Sven Hohenstein, Andreas Bollmann, Ralf Kuhlen, and Jörg-Peter Ritz.
• Department of General and Visceral Surgery, Helios Kliniken Schwerin, Schwerin, Germany; Real World Evidence and Health Technology Assessment at Helios Health Institute, Berlin, Germany; Helios Health, Berlin, Germany; Helios Health Institute, Berlin, Germany.
• Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2023 Sep 22; 120 (38): 633638633-638.

BackgroundThe necessary number of intensive care beds has been under debate in recent years. This study aims to provide a descriptive analysis of postoperative intensive care for visceral surgery patients based on three indicator procedures, with particular attention to the frequency and duration of intensive care among these patients, trends in the occupancy of intensive care units, and the course during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsRoutine data from inpatient cases of the Helios group (24 888 cases from 71 acute care hospitals) from 01.01.2016 to 31.12.2021 were analyzed retrospectively. The indicator procedures were colorectal resection, surgery for gastric carcinoma, and left pancreatic resection.ResultsRoutine data reveal a decline in the utilization of intensive care by these patients over the years, e.g., after colorectal resection, from 84.2% in 2016 to 63.1% in 2021. The percentage of patients requiring mechanical ventilation declined to a small extent as well (2016: 10.3%; 2021: 8.9%). In-hospital mortality remained stable in the range of 4.1% to 5.2%. The number of gastric carcinomas operated on fell from 355 in 2016 to 239 in 2021, while the number of left pancreatic resections remained stable in the range of 147 to 172 per year.ConclusionIn the hospitals studied, visceral surgery patients still commonly undergo intensive care postoperatively, at a rate that is declining slowly over the years. No adjustments were made for age, sex, or Elixhauser comorbidity index.

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