Why more than Half ICU patents Die: Study

A study has revealed that more than 54 per cent of people admitted in the Intensive Care Units never come out alive.

The researchers included Ms Wangari Waweru-Siika, former head of the MTRH intensive care unit and Mr Protus Kituyi, the chairman of the Department of Anesthesia at the Moi University School of Medicine.

The research found incapacity as one of the reasons behind the gory findings.

Whereas the ICU at the hospital has undergone improvements, the study said the workers are stretched thin.

The unit has relatively modern equipment, experienced nurses and physicians. It is capable of advanced therapy.

“MTRH has less than one ICU bed per 100 hospital beds, compared with an average of nine ICU beds in the United States,” Peter Kussin, the co-principal investigator and professor of medicine at Duke Global Health Institute, said.

Only 42 functional ICUs in the country

“While it is important to expand ICU resources, it is also crucial to examine and address the challenges in the pre-ICU setting that contribute to high mortality among patients,” he said.

In Kenya, are just 106 ICU beds in public hospitals across the country, but only 42 can take care of patients whose lives are at risk.

First Aid

Dr Benjamin Wachira, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi says while challenges in the ICU contribute to deaths, what happens before a patient arrives may have just as much, if not more, impact on the outcome.

“An ICU is more than a bed, a ventilator and a monitor. You need a room that is well equipped and has infection control. Many people think the sophisticated equipment in private hospitals are decoration. They are not. They are supposed to keep the patient alive. That is why public hospitals record many deaths,” Dr Wachira said.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *