Factores inherentes a la sobrevida y mortalidad de pacientes de cuidados intensivos en Panamá / Factors involved in the survival and mortality of intensive care patients in Panama

Biotechnology has been important for the management of the critical ill patients. Today the treatment is expensive and even more with complications, this work has the purpose to find out about mortality and survival and the associated factors that could promote alterations in the outcome. The authors studied 247 admissions in a six months period, their mortality and survival. We investigated the relationship between the inflammatory systemic response syndrome, the multi systemic organ failure and sepsis, with mortality and survival. We concluded that there is a high mortality related to the septic syndrome. Prevention to avoid the septic syndrome, is the best way to lower the high cost in the intensive care units

Causa de mortalidad en la Unidad de Cuidado Intensivo de Cirugia en La Caja de Seguro Social de Panamá / Cause of mortality in the surgery intensive care unit at the Social Security Branch of Panamá

The authors analyzed the mortality of patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the Social Security Metropolitan Hospital Complex (SSMHC) in the city of Panama, from January to July 31, 1994. They determined that most of patients were males under 65 years of age and that the main cause of death was multiple trauma with shock. There was also a strong correlation between the syndrome of multiple organ failure, sepsis and death. The 17% mortality indicates an acceptable, good management of the patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit of the SSMHC