Inter-hospital Transfers of the Critically Ill: Time Spent at Referring Institutions Influences Survival

Abstract Objective To determine if the length of stay at a referring institution ICU prior to transfer to a tertiary/quaternary care facility is a risk factor for mortality. Design. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients transferred to our ICU from referring institution ICUs over a three year period. Logistical regression analysis was performed to determine which factors were independently associated with increased mortality. The primary outcomes were ICU and hospital mortality. Main Results. 1248 patients were included in our study. Length of stay at the referring institution was an independent risk factor for both ICU and hospital mortality (p-value