Ministry issues ICU admission norms for critical patients
The Union Health Ministry has issued latest guidelines on intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, stating hospitals cannot admit critically ill patients in the ICU in case of refusal by them and their relatives.
As per the guidelines compiled by 24 experts, keeping in a patient in ICU is futile when no further treatment is possible or available in a disease or in terminally ill patients if the continuation of therapy is not going make an impact on the outcome or survival.
The seven-page guidelines also state that terminally ill patients with a medical judgment of futility should not be admitted to the ICU. Additionally, those with low priority criteria in a pandemic or disaster situation, where there is a limitation of resources (e.g., beds, workforce, equipment), should not be admitted to the ICU.
The guidelines spell out admission criteria for the ICU, including altered level of consciousness of recent onset, hemodynamic instability, need for respiratory support, patients with acute illness requiring intensive monitoring and organ support, or any medical condition or disease with anticipation of deterioration.
Patients who have experienced any major intraoperative complication like cardiovascular or respiratory instability, or have undergone major surgery, are also included in the criteria for ICU admission. The guidelines list ICU discharge criteria as well.