Abstract
This study aimed to determine the impact of tele-intensive care unit (ICU) on ICU mortality rate (%), and to quantify association of the tele-ICU intervention with ICU length of stay (LOS, days), readmission rates (%), reintubation rates (%), hospital-acquired pressure ulcer (HAPU) rate (%), and discharge against medical advice (DAMA) rate (%) in five hospitals.
A multicenter case-historical control study was conducted on short-term outcomes of tele-ICU program in five private hospitals within Arabian Gulf Region. Critically ill adult patients admitted into ICU without tele-ICU were recorded as control group (pre-tele-ICU), whereas those admitted to tele-ICU were grouped as treatment group (post-tele-ICU). The observed outcomes for each patient were then recorded, namely mortality, reintubation, readmission, HAPU, DAMA, and length of stay (LOS).
Chi-square test showed that there are significant differences in mortality rate (χ
= 6.596, p
p
p
p
t
p
Tele-ICU as a step to improve the quality of health care project has shown statistically significant improvement in the adult ICU patients' outcomes, which lead to lesser mortality rate, readmission rate, HAPU rate, DAMA rate, and shorter LOS.