Causes of death and determinants of outcome in critically ill patients

Table 2 Characteristics of study patients (n = 3,700)

Characteristic	n (percentage)^a
Male gender	2,390 (64.6)
Age	59.2 ± 19.3 years
>65 years	1,702 (46)
>75 years	584 (15.8)
Obesity	466 (12.6)
Emergency admission	1,322 (35.7)
Surgical disease	2,950 (79.7)
ASA classification	3.3 ± 0.9
Number of pre-existent diseases	2.4 ± 1.7
Referral unit
Operation theatre	2,717 (73.5)
Recovery room	454 (12.3)
Emergency department	2,950 (79.7)
Normal ward	140 (3.8)
Other ICU	69 (1.9)
Reason for ICU admission
Post-cardiac surgery	45.4%
Multiple trauma	7.1%
Major tumour surgery	4.7%
Abdominal sepsis	4.5%
Acute abdominal disease other than sepsis	3.6%
Respiratory insufficiency	3.4%
ICU duration of stay	8 ± 9.8 days
>7 days	962 (26)
>14 days	491 (13.3)
>21 days	281 (7.6)

^a Except where other units are given. Data are given as mean values ± standard deviation except where indicated otherwise. ASA, American Society of Anesthesiologists; ICU, intensive care unit.