Multiple-Organ Failure Main Cause of ICU Death

A new study has found that multiple-organ failure and malignant tumors are the main causes of death in the intensive care unit (ICU) and in the hospital.

Researchers from the Innsbruck Medical University (Austria) collaborated with colleagues from other institutions in Austria to analyze the cause of death in 3,700 patients admitted to ICUs. The researchers focused on the causes of death in the ICU, in the hospital after discharge from the ICU, and one year after admission to the ICU.

The results showed that 47% of patients who died in the ICU died as a result of multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Acute and chronic multiple-organ dysfunction were much more common causes of death in the ICU than single organ failure. In addition, patients with central nervous system failure had a 16.07% increased risk of dying while in the ICU, and patients with cardiovascular failure had an almost 12% risk of dying. Malignant tumor disease caused over a third of hospital deaths in patients who had been discharged from the ICU, one year after admission to the ICU.

Exacerbation of chronic cardiovascular disease caused 19.4% of deaths after discharge from the ICU and it is the second most-frequent cause of death both after discharge from the ICU and one year after admission to the ICU. The results were published in the November 3, 2006, online edition of the journal Critical Care.

"Acute or chronic MODS prevails by far over single-organ failure or unexpected cardiac arrest as cause of death in the ICU,” wrote Dr. Viktoria D. Mayer and colleagues. "To improve short- and long-term outcomes of critically ill patients, treatment and research should focus on effective therapy of central nervous system failure and cardiovascular failure, as well as on prevention of re-admission to the ICU.”



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Innsbruck Medical University