Epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and Outcomes of 4546 Adult Admissions to High-Dependency and ICUs in Kenya: A multicenter registry-based observational study.

Document Type

Article

Department

Anaesthesiology (East Africa)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe clinical, management, and outcome features of critically ill patients admitted to ICUs and high-dependency units (HDUs) in Kenya.

DESIGN: Prospective registry-based observational study.

SETTING: Three HDUs and eight ICUs in Kenya.

PATIENTS: Consecutive adult patients admitted between January 2021 and June 2022.

INTERVENTIONS: None.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data were entered in a cloudbased platform using a common data model. Study endpoints included casemix variables, management features, and patient-centered outcomes. Patients with COVID-19 were reported separately. Of the 3892 of 4546 patients without COVID-19, 2445 patients (62.8%) were from HDUs, and 1447 patients (37.2%) were from ICUs. Patients had a median age of 53 years (interquartile range [IQR] 38–68), with HDU patients being older but with a lower severity (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II 6 [3–9] in HDUs vs. 12 [7–17] in ICUs; p < 0.001). One in four patients was postoperative with 604 (63.4%) receiving emergency surgery. Readmission rate was 4.8%. Hypertension and diabetes were prevalent comorbidities, with a 4.0% HIV/AIDS rate. Invasive mechanical ventilation was applied in 3.4% in HDUs versus 47.6% in ICUs (p < 0.001), with a duration of 7 days (IQR 3–21). There was a similar use of renal replacement therapy (4.0% vs. 4.7%; p < 0.001). Vasopressor use was infrequent while half of patients received antibiotics. Average length of stay was 2 days (IQR 1–5). Crude HDU mortality rate was 6.5% in HDUs versus 30.5% in the ICUs (p < 0.001). Of the 654 COVID-19 admissions, most were admitted in ICUs (72.3%) with a 33.2% mortality.

CONCLUSIONS: We provide the first multicenter observational cohort study from an African ICU National Registry. Distinct management features and outcomes characterize HDU from ICU patients.

Publication (Name of Journal)

Critical Care Explorations

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1097/CCE.0000000000001036

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