reports

The epidemiology and outcomes of critical illness in Manitoba

Winnipeg, MB, Canada: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy.

Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

This report was conducted at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP)on behalf of Manitoba Health, the healthcare arm of the provincial government. Its broad goals were to:
1. Bring the Winnipeg ICU Database (WICUDB) into the Population Health Research Data Repository (the Repository) held at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy
2. Link the WICUDB to administrative health data already held in the Repository
3. Do the first comprehensive assessment of the epidemiology and outcomes of ICU care in Manitoba
This report provides a comprehensive, population–based evaluation of the epidemiology and outcomes of care provided in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) among persons aged 17 and older in Manitoba, over the nine years (April 1– March 31) 1999/2000–2007/08. The care of critically ill patients occurs primarily in ICUs, and the report concentrates on that care. The report is organized into six Specific Aims; the first three aims describe the process of creating the data infrastructure needed to assess ICU use and outcomes, which are detailed in the final three aims.
The value of this report derives from the importance of ICU care, the assessment of a broad range of endpoints relevant to patients and to society, and the nature of the data. Unlike the data used in most studies of critical illness or ICU care, our population–based data allow determination of incidence (not just number of cases) and mortality (as compared to case–fatality rates or the percent of people with a certain condition who die over a certain period of time); it eliminates concerns about selection bias. In addition, age– and sex–standardization can be performed to allow like–comparison among different regions and time periods.
We limited analyses of ICU pts through Mar 31 2008 because we wanted to look at health service use for one year after ICU admission, and the most recent data available at the start of this project was until March 31, 2009.