[Intermediate Care Units dependent on Internal Medicine in a hospital without an Intensive Care Unit]

Utility of Intermediate Care Units: A Systematic Review Study

Intermediate care units (IMCUs) have become increasingly important in the care of critical and semi-critical patients, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is still no clear definition of their structural characteristics, specialties, types of patients, and the benefits they provide. The aim of this work is to describe the current state of implementation and operation of IMCUs in hospitals and patient care. To achieve this goal, a systematic review was conducted in the Web of Science, Scopus and CINAHL databases, along with a hand search. The research yielded 419 documents, of which 26 were included in this review after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results were highly diverse and were categorized based on the following topics: material resources, human resources, continuity of care, and patient benefits. Despite the different objectives outlined in the studies, all of them demonstrate the numerous benefits provided by an IMCU, along with the increased relevance of this type of unit in recent years. Therefore, this systematic review highlights the benefits of IMCUs in the care of critical patients, as well as the role of health workers in these units.

["Surgical intermediate care unit" outcomes, facts and experiences after 5 years]

The increasing economic pressure has resulted in strategies to use efficient treatment forms. The aim of our study was to evaluate to which extent the intermediate care unit (IMC-unit) relieves the intensive care unit and the wards. We analyzed: patient population, age, gender, admission criteria and the rate of patients with intensive nursing procedures between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007. The level of care was calculated according to the standard patient categories. The mean age amounted to 58.9 years. Intensive care patients made up 43.6% and patients from the emergency ward 36.6% of the total IMC-allocation. After IMC care 54.3% of all IMC-patients could be taken over by wards. The confused patients amounted to 27.5% and isolated patients 4.3%. The average care intensity amounted to 4.5 hours per patient daily and the mean length of stay in hospital was 9 days. Particularly the relief of nursing intensity and the possibility of primary treatment of severely injured persons reflect the requirements of IMC.