Risk factors and mortality associated with acute respiratory failure in the ICU

Introduction

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is a common medical problem in the ICU.

Methods

A retrospective study in the general ICU of a quaternary hospital from December 2005 to April 2008.

Results

Five hundred and four patients with the mean age of 53.9 ± 19.9 years and a female majority (56.3%) were included. APACHE II (25.0 ± 7.9 vs 17.9 ± 8.1, P < 0.001), length of stay (9 (5 to 14) vs 3 (1 to 5) days, P < 0.001) and mortality rate (52.0% vs 22.1%, P < 0.001) were higher in patients that developed ARF during the ICU stay, compared with those without ARF. The risk factors most frequently associated with ARF were pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and hypovolemic shock (Table 1).

Table 1 Chi-square of risk factor indicators to ARF

Conclusion

Pulmonary embolism, pneumonia and hypovolemic shock were risk factors most associated with ARF, and patients that developed ARF during the ICU stay had high mortality.