Surgery is associated with a high risk for morbidity and mortality, particularly when performed in critical patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission.
The aim of this study was to investigate risk factors associated with adverse outcomes in a large cohort of patients admitted to a single-center ICU after abdominal surgery.
All patients admitted to a surgical ICU for postoperative care, from January 2016 to December 2022, were retrospectively evaluated. Data concerning demographics and clinical and perioperative variables were compared to in-hospital mortality.
A total of 1,717 patients (1,096 women, mean age: 61±17 years) were evaluated. Most of the patients underwent colorectal (n=499), pancreatic (n=148), biliary tract (n=147), and gastric surgeries (n=145); liver resection (n=131); and several gynecological or obstetric procedures (n=250). Only 52.3% of these surgical procedures were elective. The mean Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores were 4.4±2.8 and 10.1±5.6, respectively. Mortality was observed in 158 (9.2%) patients. Age (70.4±14.3 vs. 60.6±17.1 years in survivors, p=0.002), CCI (6.1±2.5 vs. 4.3±2.8 in survivors, p=0.005), type of surgery (13.6% in emergent/urgent vs. 5.5% in elective surgeries, p<0.001), and APACHE II score (16.7±8.4 vs. 9.4±4.7 in survivors, p<0.0001) were associated with mortality on univariate analysis, but only CCI, type of surgery, and APACHE II score were independently correlated with a higher risk of death on multivariate analysis.
Mortality after abdominal surgery in patients requiring postoperative ICU support is less than 10% nowadays, and it is independently associated with urgent or emergent surgeries, disease severity, and comorbidity.
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