Intensive care unit utilization following the elimination of intermediate care

Abstract Background Many hospitals have established intermediate care units (IMCU) to improve intensive care unit (ICU) utilization. There is little data on how eliminating an existing IMCU affects ICU utilization and the characteristics of ICU patients. Objective Effect of IMCU elimination on ICU utilization and characteristics of patients admitted to the ICU. Methods Retrospective observational before‐after study. ICU utilization and characteristics of patients admitted to the ICU were evaluated. Results Following IMCU elimination ICU utilization significantly increased. ICU admissions increased from 14.2% to 20.5% of hospital admissions, p   Conclusion Eliminating IMCU increased ICU utilization and affected the characteristics of ICU admissions. Despite increased utilization, the outcomes of patients admitted to the ICU did not worsen. Further study is warranted on the clinical outcomes of patients previously admitted to IMCU and hospital outcomes following IMCU elimination.