Multiorgan failure in the critically ill: outcomes and costs

Abstract

In these days of serious healthcare cost containment, there is considerable concern about the relationship between outcome and cost in critically ill patients with multiple organ failure. Even though a large number of these persons die and multiple organ failure is expensive to treat, an examination of the long-term outcomes and direct costs of treatment in specific groups of patients with multiple organ failure has demonstrated that this cost can be reasonable in terms of cost per life-year gained and even quality adjusted life-years gained. Dr David J Bihari discussed these issues at the 26th Educational and Scientific Symposium of the Society of Critical Care Medicine [ San Diego, California, February 1997 ].