Impact of gender on treatment and outcome of ICU patients

BACKGROUND: Gender modifies immunologic responses caused by severe trauma or critical illness. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of gender on hospital mortality, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and intensity of care of patients treated in ICUs. METHODS: Data on 24,341 ICU patients were collected from a national database. We measured severity of illness with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores and intensity of care with Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System (TISS) scores. We used logistic regression analysis to test the independent effect of gender on hospital mortality. We compared the lengths of ICU stay and the intensity of care of men and women. RESULTS: Male gender was associated with increased hospital mortality among postoperative ICU patients [adjusted odds ratio 1.33 (95% confidence interval 1.12-1.58, P = 0.001)] but not among medical patients [adjusted odds ratio 1.02 (95% confidence interval 0.92-1.13, P = 0.74)]. Male gender was associated with an increased risk of death particularly in the oldest age group (75 years or older) and among the patients with relatively low APACHE II scores (<16). Mean length of ICU stay was 3.2 days for men and 2.6 days for women (P < 0.001). Male patients comprised 61.7% of the study population but consumed 66.0% of days in intensive care. CONCLUSION: Male gender contributes to poor outcome in postoperative ICU patients. Approximately two-thirds of ICU resources are consumed by male patients.