ReviewCurrent opinion in critical care2012
International comparisons of intensive care: informing outcomes and improving standards.
Review in Current opinion in critical care, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Outcomes of damage control laparotomy after trauma in low andmiddle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- Managing intensive care admissions when there are not enough beds during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Thorax · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of acute kidney injury in the intensive care units of developed and developing countries.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Survival in solid cancer patients following intensive care unit admission.Intensive care medicine · 2014Pooled it
- Predictive Performance of Sepsis Scoring Tools for In-Hospital Mortality Among Patients With Suspected Sepsis Presenting to the Colonial War Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, Fiji.Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA · 2026Observational
- Characteristics and outcomes of paediatric intensive care unit admissions across Kuwait: multicentre national-level cohort study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- COVID-19 Mortality in Swedish Intensive Care Units: A Multicenter Survival Analysis.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Nationwide Comparison of ICU Procedure Frequencies in Japan Using a Public Open Database: A Cross-Sectional Study by ICU Admission Fee Type and Region.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Evaluation of days alive out of hospital as an outcome after intensive care admission: a national retrospective cohort study.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- Comparison of Outcomes From Intermittent Hemodialysis and Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy With Systemic or Regional Anticoagulation in 128 Patients in a Polish Intensive Care Unit.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Article
- Human Development Index and outcomes in older critically ill patients: A European multicentre study.Annals of intensive care · 2026Article
- Resting energy expenditure changes related to different sedation levels in critically ill patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- A Reflection on Current Definitions of Critical Care and Critical Illness-A Narrative Review of the Literature.Nursing in critical care · 2026Review
- Article
- Respiratory syncytial virus infection in adult and paediatric patients admitted to intensive care in Australia: A nation-wide comparison with COVID-19.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2025Article
- Effect of Emergency Department Boarding on ICU Length of Stay and In-Hospital Mortality; A Retrospective Cohort Study.Archives of academic emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Predictors of Severity of Influenza-Related Hospitalizations: Results From the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network (GIHSN).The Journal of infectious diseases · 2024Article
- A research definition and framework for acute paediatric critical illness across resource-variable settings: a modified Delphi consensus.The Lancet. Global health · 2024Review
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purpose of reviewInterest in international comparisons of critical illness is growing, but the utility of these studies is questionable. This review examines the challenges of international comparisons and highlights areas in which international data provide information relevant to clinical practice and resource allocation. RECENT
findingsInternational comparisons of ICU resources demonstrate that definitions of critical illness and ICU beds vary due to differences in ability to provide organ support and variable staffing. Despite these limitations, recent international data provide key information to understand the pros and cons of different availability of ICU beds on patient flow and outcomes, and also highlight the need to ensure long-term follow-up due to heterogeneity in discharge practices for critically ill patients. With increasing emphasis on curbing costs of healthcare, systems that deliver lower cost care provide data on alternative options, such as regionalization, flexible allocation of beds, and bed rationing. SUMMARY: Differences in provision of critical care can be leveraged to inform decisions on allocation of ICU beds, improve interpretation of clinical outcomes, and assess ways to decrease costs of care. International definitions of key components of critical care are needed to facilitate research and ensure rigorous comparisons.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.