Decreased mortality in patients hospitalized due to respiratory diseases after installation of an intensive care unit in a secondary hospital in the interior of Brazil

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between the in-hospital mortality of patients hospitalized due to respiratory diseases and the availability of intensive care units. METHODS This retrospective cohort study evaluated a database from a hospital medicine service involving patients hospitalized due to respiratory non-terminal diseases. Data on clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with mortality, such as Charlson score and length of hospital stay, were collected. The following analyses were performed: univariate analysis with simple stratification using the Mantel Haenszel test, chi squared test, Student's t test, Mann-Whitney test, and logistic regression. RESULTS Three hundred thirteen patients were selected, including 98 (31.3%) before installation of the intensive care unit and 215 (68.7%) after installation of the intensive care unit. No significant differences in the clinical and anthropometric characteristics or risk factors were observed between the groups. The mortality rate was 18/95 (18.9%) before the installation of the intensive care unit and 21/206 (10.2%) after the installation of the intensive care unit. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the probability of death after the installation of the intensive care unit decreased by 58% (OR: 0.42; 95%CI 0.205 -0.879; p = 0.021). CONCLUSION Considering the limitations of the study, the results suggest a benefit, with a decrease of one death per every 11 patients treated for respiratory diseases after the installation of an intensive care unit in our hospital. The results corroborate the benefits of the implementation of intensive care units in secondary hospitals.