• Graciela J Soto, Greg S Martin, and Michelle Ng Gong.
• 1Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Jay B. Langner Critical Care Service, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY. 2Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Emory University, Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, GA. 3Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
• Crit. Care Med.. 2013 Dec 1;41(12):2784-93.

ObjectiveTo summarize the current literature on racial and gender disparities in critical care and the mechanisms underlying these disparities in the course of acute critical illness.Data SourcesMEDLINE search on the published literature addressing racial, ethnic, or gender disparities in acute critical illness, such as sepsis, acute lung injury, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism, and cardiac arrest.Study SelectionClinical studies that evaluated general critically ill patient populations in the United States as well as specific critical care conditions were reviewed with a focus on studies evaluating factors and contributors to health disparities.Data ExtractionStudy findings are presented according to their association with the prevalence, clinical presentation, management, and outcomes in acute critical illness.Data SynthesisThis review presents potential contributors for racial and gender disparities related to genetic susceptibility, comorbidities, preventive health services, socioeconomic factors, cultural differences, and access to care. The data are organized along the course of acute critical illness.ConclusionsThe literature to date shows that disparities in critical care are most likely multifactorial involving individual, community, and hospital-level factors at several points in the continuum of acute critical illness. The data presented identify potential targets as interventions to reduce disparities in critical care and future avenues for research.

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