Table 1

Demographics of patients admitted to the intensive care unit during the observation period (IQR in parentheses)

BeforeAfterp Value
No of patients18724951–
Age63 (50 to 73)64 (51 to 74)0.15*
Gender (percentage female)37.636.90.60†
Intensive care unit length of stay1.9 (0.9 to 4.9)1.9 (1.0 to 4.6)0.36*
Illness severity (APACHE II‡)17 (13 to 22)19 (14 to 25)<0.001*
Admission type (percentage medical)39.2%42.5%0.015†
Mortality17.4717.810.74†

  • The populations were similar except that there were more medical admissions and a greater severity of illness in the postintervention period.

  • ↵* Mann–Whitney U test.

  • ↵† χ2 test.

  • ↵‡ Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II.