J Korean Med Sci.  2014 Mar;29(3):431-437. 10.3346/jkms.2014.29.3.431.

Current Status of Intensive Care Units Registered as Critical Care Subspecialty Training Hospitals in Korea

• Kwak SH
• Jeong CW
• Lee SH
• Lee HJ
• Koh Y

• KMID: 1734933
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2014.29.3.431

Abstract

There is a lack of information on critical care in Korea. The aim of this study was to determine the current status of Korean intensive care units (ICUs), focusing on the organization, characteristics of admitted patients, and nurse and physician staffing. Critical care specialists in charge of all 105 critical care specialty training hospitals nationwide completed a questionnaire survey. Among the ICUs, 56.4% were located in or near the capital city. Only 38 ICUs (17.3%) had intensive care specialists with a 5-day work week. The average daytime nurse-to-patient ratio was 1:2.7. Elderly people > or = 65 yr of age comprised 53% of the adult patients. The most common reasons for admission to adult ICUs were respiratory insufficiency and postoperative management. Nurse and physician staffing was insufficient for the appropriate critical care in many ICUs. Staffing was worse in areas outside the capital city. Much effort, including enhanced reimbursement of critical care costs, must be made to improve the quality of critical care at the national level.

Keyword

Critical Care; Intensive Care Units; Organizations; Outcome Assessment; Personnel Staffing; Korea

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Critical Care/*organization & administration
Hospitals
Humans
Intensive Care Units
Middle Aged
Nursing Staff, Hospital/*statistics & numerical data
Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
Physicians/*statistics & numerical data
Questionnaires
Republic of Korea

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Percentage of ICUs having an assigned doctor. CCU, coronary care unit.

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  Fig. 2 Percentage of elderly patients depending on the hospital size. There was a significant association between the percentage of elderly patients and the hospital size (P < 0.001). Data from pediatric ICU were excluded. P values were calculated by the linear-by-linear chi-square test.

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