Characteristics and outcomes of critically ill Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients in North Queensland

A retrospective cohort analysis of an admission database for the intensive care unit at The Townsville Hospital was undertaken to describe the characteristics and short-term outcomes of critically ill Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. The Townsville Hospital is the tertiary referral centre for Northern Queensland and services a region in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people constitute 9.6% of the population. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients were significantly younger and had higher rates of invasive mechanical ventilation, emergency admissions and transfers from another hospital. Despite these factors, intensive care mortality did not differ between groups (9.4% versus 7.7%, P=0.1). Higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III-j scores were noted in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population requiring emergency admission (65 versus 60, P=0.022) but were lower for elective admission (38 versus 42, P