Predictors of mortality in critically ill patients with poisoning: A single center experience

Abstract

Objective: Poisoning is among the common health care problems which may be fatal and 3-5% of the acutely poisoned patients need intensive care admission. The aim of this study was to examine the acutely poisoned patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) in terms of individual, etiological and demographical characteristics and also to determine the factors affecting mortality. Material and Methods: This study was retrospectively conducted on the patients admitted to medical ICU of a university hospital due to acute poisoning over a six year period. The patients' age, gender, comorbid disease status, sociocultural characteristics, cause of the poisoning, transfer time to hospital and to the ICU, signs and symptoms, laboratory data, Glasgow coma score, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, length of stay in ICU, the treatments employed and their results were analyzed. Results: The total number of the patients included in the study was 190. The median age of the patients was 28.5 (16-72) years and 97 (51%) patients were females. The mean length of stay in ICU was 4.2±3.6 days. The overall mortality rate was 8.4%. Independent risk factors for mortality were presence of concomitant physical disorders, time to ICU admission, and higher APACHE II scores. Conclusion: Individual characteristics, cause of poisoning and type of toxic agent should be clearly determined since they are predictors for mortality. Early intervention is life saving. ICU scoring systems in predicting mortality are very valuable and should be used. © 2013 by Türkiye Klinikleri.