Trauma cases admitted to the surgical intensive care unit--progress and outcome.

A review of the trauma admissions to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh during the period from 30 October 1984 to 29 October 1989 was made. A total of 181 cases constituting 15.7% of the total surgical admissions to the unit during that period were recognised. The main cause of the trauma was road traffic accidents (83.4%). The male to female ratio in this group was 6.3:1. Thirty patients died in the SICU, 16 died within 24 hours of admission to the unit and the remaining 14 developed multiple organ failure prior to death. Positive cultures from different sites were obtained from 50% of them. Recommendations are made to improve the management of similar cases.