Admission decisions to intensive care units in the context of the major COVID-19 outbreak: local guidance from the COVID-19 Paris-region area

Élie Azoulay; Sadek Beloucif; Bertrand Guidet; Dominique Pateron; Benoît Vivien; Matthieu Le Dorze

doi:10.1186/s13054-020-03021-2

Admission decisions to intensive care units in the context of the major COVID-19 outbreak: local guidance from the COVID-19 Paris-region area

Crit Care. 2020 Jun 5;24(1):293. doi: 10.1186/s13054-020-03021-2.

Authors

Élie Azoulay¹, Sadek Beloucif^{2

3}, Bertrand Guidet^{2

4}, Dominique Pateron^{2

5}, Benoît Vivien^{2

6}, Matthieu Le Dorze^{2

7}

Affiliations

¹ Médecine Intensive et Réanimation, APHP, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris University, 1 Avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75010, Paris, France. elie.azoulay@aphp.fr.
² Médecine Intensive et Réanimation, APHP, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris University, 1 Avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75010, Paris, France.
³ Anesthesia and Critical Care Department, Avicenne Hospital, Paris, France.
⁴ Medecine Intensive et Réanimation Department, Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France.
⁵ Emergency Department, Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France.
⁶ Emergency Department, Neckers Hospital, Paris, France.
⁷ Anesthesia and Critical Care Department, Lariboisiere Hospital, Paris, France.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global pandemic unprecedented in size, spread, severity, and mortality. The influx of patients with severe or life-threatening disease means that in some cases, the available medical resources are not sufficient to meet the needs of all patients. Hence, healthcare providers may be forced to make difficult choices about which patients should be referred to the ICU. This document is intended to provide conceptual support to all healthcare teams currently engaged in the frontline management of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to assist physicians in the decision-making process for ICU admission and to help them provide uninterrupted and high-quality care.

Keywords: Bereavement; Coronavirus; Decision-making; Mechanical ventilation; Triage.

MeSH terms

COVID-19
Clinical Decision-Making*
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Coronavirus Infections / therapy*
Disease Outbreaks*
Humans
Intensive Care Units*
Pandemics
Paris / epidemiology
Patient Admission*
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Pneumonia, Viral / therapy*
Practice Guidelines as Topic