Analysis of Unplanned Postoperative Intensive Care Unit Admissions Before and During Covid-19 Outbreak

Unplanned Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission is associated with a negative outcome and is a surrogate marker for patient safety and a quality indicator.

To investigate the outcomes of the unplanned ICU admission in gynecologic and obstetric patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is a retrospective cohort study conducted on patients who transferred to the ICU from non-ICU units at a tertiary hospital, from March 1, 2012 to 2022.

Demographic features, triage classifications, diagnosis on admission and outcome of the ICU, presence of comorbidities and past surgical history, ASA physical status, type of elective anesthesia, post-operative complications, details of treatment given such as blood transfusion, ionotropic support, and dialysis were reviewed.

A total of 66 unplanned ICU admissions were identified, of whom 41 were before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the remaining 25 were during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no difference in the need for infusion of inotropic and vasoactive drugs, the shift or day of the week the cases were in between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.

This study indicated that the characteristics and outcomes of patients who had unplanned ICU admissions from the gynecologic and obstetric department during the COVID-19 pandemic were broadly similar to the earlier period. Preeclampsia/eclampsia, low- risk pregnancy, and placenta accreata/percreata were clinical medical conditions more prevalent.

The characteristics and outcomes of patients who had unplanned ICU admissions from the obstetrics and gynecology department during the COVID-19 pandemic were similar to the pre-pandemic period.