Evaluation Of End Stage Patient In Intensive Care Unit

Medical interventions to the patients from whom healing expectations (with the current technological and scientific data) were considered to be lost are being ethically discussed about the benefit and loss to the patient. When it is about the limited sources of the country, particularly like the intensive care units, it becomes an administrative issue. In this study we evaluated the patients in the terminal phase of their diseases with no expectancy of healing, hospitalized in the medical intensive care unit (ICU)of our university hospital. Thirteen terminal phase patients out of 73 patients hospitalized between 25 October 2010 and 30 April 2011 were evaluated retrospectively in ICU. Eleven of the patients had oncological disease (6 lung cancers and 5 other organ cancers). These patients had widespread metastases not responding to therapy. Tree of the other patients had ejection fraction lower than 15% following myocardial infarction with no chance for transplantation due to low health status, one had advanced respiratory muscle involvement due to muscular dystrophy, the another had intersitisyel lung diseases with severe respiratory failure, the other had liver cirrhosis with multiple complications. Fifteen patients died in the intensive care unit, whereas two patient was discharged with home mechanical ventilator support. Medical cost of the patients was 208.200,640/TL. They were hospitalized for 233 bed/days. The number of beds occupied by these terminal phase patients in this period were considered to be high. Foundation of palliative care units or hospice service with necessary law evaluations, is very useful and important not only for optimal use of limited financial sources but also for comfort of patient and relatives.