Clinical Predictors of Intensive Care Unit Transfer in Admitted Patients with Cirrhosis

Background Patients with cirrhosis are at high risk of mortality after organ failure that requires ICU care. There have been attempts to predict which patients are at highest risk, with some success found in adapting liver disease-specific scoring systems with clinical variables commonly associated with critical illness. However, the clinical factors predictive of which patients with cirrhosis are most at-risk of needing ICU level care are unknown. Aims Our study set out to better understand which clinical variables were associated with need for ICU care in patients with cirrhosis. Methods Retrospective analysis of admitted patients with cirrhosis at single tertiary care center. Results Patients with cirrhosis admitted to our center were categorized into three groups: those without ICU transfer, those admitted to the ICU directly from the emergency department (ED), and those admitted to the ICU from the medicine floor. These groups differed in mortality at 30 days (3.5% vs. 15% vs. 25%, P