International archives of medicine
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Readmission to the surgical intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital has traditionally been tracked as a quality indicator and many studies have suggested various figures as to the acceptable rate of such. ICU beds being a precious resource readmitting a patient could imply hasty discharge or inadequate care. Patients readmitted generally have a higher mortality and length of stay due to the worsening of their illness. ⋯ Other causes included hypotension, sepsis, dysrhythmias, recurrent drop in GCS and GI re-bleed. When compared to the first admission most patients had a longer length of stay during the readmission. The outcomes were mostly good with only one patient expiring after readmission.