Surgical intensive care: a university hospital experience

In 1985, 140 (26.1 %) of 536 admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) were general surgical cases. Retrospective review of 107 of these admissions revealed four factors to be significantly different between survivors and non-survivors, p < 0.01. They were duration of stay, organ system failure, sepsis and complications. The role of the surgeon in an ICU where management is interdisciplinary is emphasised.