The variability of critical care bed numbers in Europe
- PMID: 22777516
- DOI: 10.1007/s00134-012-2627-8
The variability of critical care bed numbers in Europe
Abstract
Purpose: To quantify the numbers of critical care beds in Europe and to understand the differences in these numbers between countries when corrected for population size and gross domestic product.
Methods: Prospective data collection of critical care bed numbers for each country in Europe from July 2010 to July 2011. Sources were identified in each country that could provide data on numbers of critical care beds (intensive care and intermediate care). These data were then cross-referenced with data from international databases describing population size and age, gross domestic product (GDP), expenditure on healthcare and numbers of acute care beds.
Results: We identified 2,068,892 acute care beds and 73,585 (2.8 %) critical care beds. Due to the heterogeneous descriptions of these beds in the individual countries it was not possible to discriminate between intensive care and intermediate care in most cases. On average there were 11.5 critical care beds per 100,000 head of population, with marked differences between countries (Germany 29.2, Portugal 4.2). The numbers of critical care beds per country corrected for population size were positively correlated with GDP (r(2) = 0.16, p = 0.05), numbers of acute care beds corrected for population (r(2) = 0.12, p = 0.05) and the percentage of acute care beds designated as critical care (r(2) = 0.59, p < 0.0001). They were not correlated with the proportion of GDP expended on healthcare.
Conclusions: Critical care bed numbers vary considerably between countries in Europe. Better understanding of these numbers should facilitate improved planning for critical care capacity and utilization in the future.
Similar articles
-
Variation in critical care services across North America and Western Europe.Crit Care Med. 2008 Oct;36(10):2787-93, e1-9. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0b013e318186aec8. Crit Care Med. 2008. PMID: 18766102 Review.
-
Trends in Critical Care Beds and Use Among Population Groups and Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries in the United States: 2000-2010.Crit Care Med. 2016 Aug;44(8):1490-9. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000001722. Crit Care Med. 2016. PMID: 27136721 Free PMC article.
-
Critical care medicine in the United States 2000-2005: an analysis of bed numbers, occupancy rates, payer mix, and costs.Crit Care Med. 2010 Jan;38(1):65-71. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181b090d0. Crit Care Med. 2010. PMID: 19730257
-
Critical Care Bed Capacity in Asian Countries and Regions.Crit Care Med. 2020 May;48(5):654-662. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000004222. Crit Care Med. 2020. PMID: 31923030
-
Addressing the Knowledge Deficit in Hospital Bed Planning and Defining an Optimum Region for the Number of Different Types of Hospital Beds in an Effective Health Care System.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Dec 12;20(24):7171. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20247171. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023. PMID: 38131722 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Designing and conducting a cluster-randomized trial of ICU admission for the elderly patients: the ICE-CUB 2 study.Ann Intensive Care. 2016 Dec;6(1):74. doi: 10.1186/s13613-016-0161-5. Epub 2016 Jul 29. Ann Intensive Care. 2016. PMID: 27473119 Free PMC article.
-
Long-term survival and quality of life after intensive care for patients 80 years of age or older.Ann Intensive Care. 2015 Dec;5(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s13613-015-0053-0. Epub 2015 Jun 3. Ann Intensive Care. 2015. PMID: 26055187 Free PMC article.
-
Prediction of hospital bed capacity during the COVID- 19 pandemic.BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 May 18;21(1):468. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06492-3. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021. PMID: 34006279 Free PMC article.
-
Gender differences in outcome and use of resources do exist in Swedish intensive care, but to no advantage for women of premenopausal age.Crit Care. 2015 Mar 30;19(1):129. doi: 10.1186/s13054-015-0873-1. Crit Care. 2015. PMID: 25887421 Free PMC article.
-
The Danish Intensive Care Database.Clin Epidemiol. 2016 Oct 25;8:525-530. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S99476. eCollection 2016. Clin Epidemiol. 2016. PMID: 27822095 Free PMC article. Review.
References
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
