Background
To determine the factors that affect the fate of cases admitted to the ICU is very important.
Objective
The aim of our study was to describe the effect of time in the form of complaint duration, admission delay time, and length of stay on the outcome of cases admitted to the ICU.
Patients and methods
This prospective descriptive analytic study was conducted among patients admitted to the respiratory ICU at Assiut University Hospital. Cases that spent less than 24 h in the ICU, those who died, and cases that were discharged or transferred from the ICU before completing data collection were excluded.
Results
A total of 254 patients were included in the study; 157 (61.8%) patients survived (survivors), whereas 97 (38.2%) patients deteriorated and died (nonsurvivors). We observed a significant statistical difference between the two groups (survivors and nonsurvivors) regarding complaint duration, admission delay time, and length of stay in ICU.
Conclusion
We concluded from this study that time, in its various forms, may have an important effect in the outcome for cases admitted to the ICU.