Unexpected ICU Admission Is Associated with Pulmonary Complications but Not Increased Mortality; Rescue Is Essential for Optimal Patient Outcome.

ICU beds are in demand in large regional referral hospitals; therefore, nonintubated polytrauma patients are often admitted to general care (GC) wards. We hypothesized that trauma patients with Injury Severity Score (ISS) greater than 15 and unexpected ICU admission (U-ICU) after initial admission to GC had increased morbidity and mortality. We also hypothesized that those requiring U-ICU could be predicted based on admission parameters.