Non-clinical delays in transfer out of the surgical ICU are associated with increased hospital length of stay and delayed progress of care.

Purpose: The impact of non-clinical transfer delay (TD) from the ICU to a general care unit on the progress of the patient's care is unknown. We measured the association between TD and: (1) the patient's subsequent hospital length of stay (LOS); (2) the timing of care decisions that would advance patient care.

Methods: This was a single center retrospective study in the United States of patients admitted to the surgical and neurosurgical ICUs during 2013 and 2015.