Organization of intensive care units in Europe: lessons from the EPIC study

Objective: To study differences related to intensive care unit (ICU) structure and patient demography between the various countries of Western Europe. Design: Application of data collected by the European Prevalence of Infection in Intensive Care (EPIC) study, a one-day prevalence study. Setting: Voluntary participation of all Western European ICUs. A total of 1417 ICUs responded. Patients: All patients, older than 10 years of age, occupying a bed in the participating ICUs over a 24-h period. 10038 patient case reports were submitted. Results: The study revealed important differences. In particular, there seems to be a north/south divide with fewer ICU beds and more severely ill patients in the south. The United Kingdom seemed more similar to southern European countries than to the north. Conclusion: While there are similarities between European countries, large differences still remain and are important to identify to enable us to work together to create a more uniform system of intensive care, which will in turn give more effective and efficient patient care.

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