I see you? - Predicting who will require intensive care

Background Delayed transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) is correlated with higher morbidity and mortality in emergency department (ED) patients. If it is possible to identify patients at risk of transfer to the ICU shortly after arrival to the ED, early goal-directed therapy could theoretically reduce the incidence of ICU transfer and improve outcome for the critically ill. No widely used scoring system exists for identifying these patients in the heterogeneous population of the ED. The aim of this study was to identify possible predictors obtainable on admission for ICU therapy.