Retrospective evaluation of immigrant patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit between 2012 and 2019

Retrospective evaluation of immigrant patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit between 2012 and 2019 Mehmet Ali TURGUT, M.D Residency Thesis, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Suleyman GANİDAGLİ June 2021, 43 pages Introduction: There is a little information about the characteristics of critically ill immigrants. A number of factors can make immigrants at high risk for critical care illness. The prevalence of critical care disease, the reasons for admission to the intensive care unit, therapeutic difficulties due to specific diagnoses to be considered, and the expected results are unknown in immigrants. In our study, we aimed to reveal the characteristics of immigrants who were treated in our Anesthesiology İntensive Care Unit between 2012-2019. Material and Method: The data of 198 refugee patients hospitalized in Gaziantep University Hospital departmannt of Anesthesiology and Reanimation Intensive Care were retrospectively scanned. Twenty patients were excluded due to lack of data. Demographic characteristics, reasons of admission, duration of hospitalization, complications, results, mortality, and factors affecting the duration of hospitalization were evaluated. Results: The male/female ratio was 0.58 in our study. The median age was 34, the median ICU stay was 120 hours, and the median APACHE score was 17. The most common cause for hospitalization was gynecological/obstetric diseases, 78% of immigrant patients were discharged, 21.9% died, 29-day mortality was 17.9% (n = 32), and 90-day mortality rate was 21.9% (n = 39). The most common complication in patients was ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). The most frequently microorganism in patients with VAP was Acinetobacter baumanii (34.1%). There was no significant difference between the cause of admission in the ICU and the length of stay and mortality (p> 0.05). Mortality rate was higher in patients with higher APACHE score and more mechanical ventilation time (p = 0.001). It was found that the need for mechanical ventilation and the number of days on mechanical ventilation increased the risk of complications in patients. Conclusion: High APACHE score and mechanical ventilation are independent risk factors of mortality in immigrants. More researches are needed to clearly reveal the health consequences of migration.