A study, published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, suggests that admission to intensive care units may not be extremely beneficial chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, exacerbation of heart failure or acute myocardial infarction.
Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study involving fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries admitted with COPD exacerbation, HF exacerbation or a heart attack from 2010 to 2012. In all, researchers investigated 1.55 million Medicare beneficiaries with the aforementioned conditions.
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Here are three insights:
1. Admission to the ICU was not associated with significant differences in 30-day mortality rates for any of the three conditions.
2. ICU admission was associated with significantly greater hospital costs for HF exacerbation or heart attacks, but not COPD.
3. ICU admission did not confer a survival benefit for patients with these conditions.