Analysis of the etiology and mortality in the ICU of Kashani General Hospital of Shahrekord between 1998 until 2001

The rate of mortality in an intensive care unit (ICU) is one of the most important criteria for evaluation of a hospital. In this article the moralities of the ICU of Kashani General Hospital of Shahrekord from 23 Sept 1998, until 23 Sep 2001 have been analyzed. A cross-sectional survey was performed on all the patients admitted to the ICU during this period. In this period 296 patients were admitted and 79 patients (27.9%) died. 35.8% of the patients were females, 60.5% were males and 3.7% were neonates. The main reasons of mortality were respiratory failure (37.9%) and brain trauma (27.8%).There was no difference between the times of death during 24 hours. Most of the patients were expired or discharged from the ICU during the first four days. Mortality was more prevalent in the patients older than 55 years and in neonates. More attention during the first four days of the admission to the ICU is necessary.