Required time for certain intensive care unit procedures

Introduction

A significant amount of time is spent in an ICU for procedures and the care of critically ill patients.

Methods

We prospectively collected data regarding demographics and time in seconds required for ICU procedures. Time was recorded as the total time (preparation and action, Time A') and actual time (intervention only, Time B').

Results

We investigated 60 patients (43 males) of mean age 53.6 ± 3.3 years, severity of illness APACHE II score = 16.5 ± 0.3, SAPS II = 46.4 ± 0.7 and mean ICU stay of 18.6 ± 2.9 days. The time required for ICU procedures is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 abstract

Conclusion

A significant amount of time is spent in an ICU for certain procedures. The length of time required is related to complications, failures, physicians' level of training, and presence of assistance. ICU staff personnel should be adequately trained to decrease time, complications and thus the ICU stay and costs.