The reasons that lead to INTENSIVE CARE

Every disease, every trauma and every accident can lead to intensive care. Every year, more than 30 million patients are admitted to intensive care and we estimate that 25% of these patients will not survive.

SHARES OF INITIAL CAUSES OF Addmissions IN INTENSIVE CARE

There are numerous causes that lead to ICU admissions

• Sepsis: Defined as the inappropriate host response to infection, sepsis is a major public health issue, recognized as such by the WHO as of June 1, 2017. All infections can be complicated by sepsis, which can lead to organ failure, with mortality increasing with the number of failing organs. Every year, 27 to 30 million patients are affected by sepsis and 9 million will die from it, i.e. 1 death every 4 seconds, thus making sepsis the leading cause of death in intensive care units.

• Cardiovascular diseases (infarction, heart failure & stroke): Heart failure affects more than 26 million patients worldwide today. Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for 17 million deaths and approximately 700,000 cardiac arrests occur every year outside the hospital in the USA and Europe, of which less than 30,000 patients will survive without neurological sequelae.

• Cancer and malignant blood diseases: With a constantly increasing incidence and nearly 10 million deaths per year, cancers represent approximately 17% of the causes of death in intensive care. Currently, one out of every five patients admitted to an intensive care unit is suffering from cancer. These patients are cured to treat life-threatening complications related to underlying neoplasia and/or treatment, serious infections, decompensation of co-morbidities or the need for post-operative care after major surgery.

• Acute & chronic respiratory insufficiency: Every year, more than 15 million patients are placed under artificial respiration (mechanical ventilation) in intensive care, for a respiratory insufficiency that is immediately life-threatening, whatever the cause (Covid-19, infectious pneumonia, influenza, chronic obstructive bronchopathy, neurological causes). The mortality rate of mechanically ventilated patients can reach 40 to 50% for the most severe forms.

• Accidents and Trauma: Whether they result from traffic accidents, drowning, poisoning, falls or burns - or whether they are caused by self-inflicted violence or acts of war, trauma and accidents claim more than 5 million victims each year worldwide. Frequently occurring among young victims, they account for 9% of the world's mortality.

• Neurological diseases and comas: Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by neurological disorders, the most common being epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and dementia. In constant increase, neurological diseases are responsible for more than 3 million deaths per year worldwide. At the same time, more than 50 million people suffer a head injury every year, making it the leading cause of death among young adults and a major cause of death and disability at all ages.