Risk factors and mortality associated with acute respiratory failure in the ICU

Abstract

Introduction: Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a common medical problem in the ICU. (table presented) Methods: A retrospective study in the general ICU of a quaternary hospital from December 2005 to April 2008. Results: Five hundred and four patients with the mean age of 53.9 +/- 19.9 years and a female majority (56.3%) were included. APACHE II (25.0 +/- 7.9 vs 17.9 +/- 8.1, P <0.001), length of stay (9 (5 to 14) vs 3 (1 to 5) days, P <0.001) and mortality rate (52.0% vs 22.1%, P <0.001) were higher in patients that developed ARF during the ICU stay, compared with those without ARF. The risk factors most frequently associated with ARF were pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and hypovolemic shock (Table 1). Conclusions: Pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and hypovolemic shock were risk factors most associated with ARF, and patients that developed ARF during the ICU stay had high mortality