Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37488508›Full record

ArticleBMC anesthesiology2023

Intensive care unit admissions with and without COVID-19 in Finland from 2017 to 2021: a retrospective register-based study.

Saara Jäntti, Ville Ponkilainen, Ilari Kuitunen, Mikko M Uimonen, Tuomas Huttunen, Ville M Mattila

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC anesthesiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Saara JänttiFaculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Kauppi Campus, Arvo Ylpön katu 34, Tampere, 33520, Finland. saara.jantti@tuni.fi.
Ville PonkilainenDepartment of Surgery, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Hoitajantie 3, 40620, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Ilari KuitunenMikkeli Central Hospital, Porrassalmenkatu 35-37, Mikkeli, 50100, Finland.
Mikko M UimonenDepartment of Surgery, Central Finland Hospital Nova, Hoitajantie 3, 40620, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Tuomas HuttunenDepartment of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Tampere Heart Hospital, Teiskontie 35, Tampere, 33521, Finland.
Ville M MattilaFaculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Kauppi Campus, Arvo Ylpön katu 34, Tampere, 33520, Finland.
Central Finland Health Care District · FITampere University · FIMoisio Hospital · FITampere University Hospital · FI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAfter the COVID-19 pandemic started, critical care resources were expanded in Finland to manage a possible surge in patients requiring intensive care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of overall ICU admissions, patient diagnoses, characteristics, and length of stay during the pandemic.

methodsThis retrospective hospital register-based study was conducted in two large and one mid-size Finnish public hospitals. The required data were collected from ICU patient information systems and all adult patients were included. Monthly and yearly incidences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were counted per 100 000 persons-years by Poisson exact method and compared by incidence rate ratios (IRR).

resultsA total of 4407 admissions to ICUs for any cause occurred during 2020. In 2021, this figure was 4931. During the reference years (2017-2019), the mean number of admissions to ICU was 4781. In 2020 and 2021, the proportion of patients requiring intensive care due to COVID-19 was only 3%. The incidence of all-cause ICU admissions decreased during the lockdown in 2020 when compared to the reference years. Before the start of the lockdown in February 2020, the IRR of all-cause ICU admissions was 1.02 (CI: 0.89 to 1.18). During the lockdown period, however, the IRR of all-cause ICU admissions decreased to 0.78 (CI: 0.67 to 0.90) in March. When the lockdown ended, the incidence rebounded to the same level as before the lockdown. However, in 2021, the incidence of ICU admissions remained at the same level when compared to the reference years. The most prominent changes occurred in the incidence of diseases of the nervous system, which includes epilepsy and seizures and transient cerebral ischemic attacks, in diseases of the respiratory system, and neoplasms.

conclusionsAccording to the findings of this study, the incidence of all-cause ICU admissions decreased after the lockdown was implemented in 2020. Furthermore, the percentage of patients requiring intensive care due to COVID-19 in Finland was only 3% in 2020 and 2021. These findings may serve to help in the planning and allocating of ICU resources during future pandemics.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAdultCommunicable Disease ControlFinlandHumansIntensive Care UnitsRetrospective StudiesCOVID-19Critical careIntensive care unit

Identifiers

PMID37488508
PMCPMC10367372
OpenAlexW4385198460

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.