4 Impacts of the Availability of Step-Down Unit Care for ICU Patients

  1. Availability of the SDU (step-down unit) was associated with a 3.9% absolute decrease in the likelihood of hospital readmission within 30 days for ICU patients with lower illness severity.
  2. Availability of the SDU was associated with a 3.6% decrease in the likelihood of ICU readmission within 5 days for patients with higher illness severity.
  3. Availability of the SDU was associated with a 2.5% absolute decrease in in-hospital mortality for patients with higher illness severity.
  4. Availability of the SDU was associated with a 1.1 day decrease in remaining hospital length-of-stay for patients with higher illness severity.
Notes: The study, "The Impact of Step-Down Unit Care on Patient Outcomes After ICU Discharge," compared outcomes, on average, for ICU patients discharged from the ICU to the SDU (step-down unit) versus to a ward. For each of the 10 hospitals in the study, inpatient beds could be categorized by level of care: the ICU with 1–2 patients per nurse, the SDU (step-down unit) with 2.5–4 patients per nurse, and a joint general medical/surgical ward with up to five patients per nurse.

Source: Critical Care Explorations, May 2020 - https://journals.lww.com/ccejournal/Fulltext/2020/05000/The_Impact_of_Step_Down…

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