Heterogeneity of Critical Illness: a Cohort Study

Rationale: There is large heterogeneity in disease states of critically ill patients at ICU admittance and there is also large heterogeneity in their disease severity during ICU stay. Still, some patients may show remarkable similarities in disease patterns. There is a lack of understanding of causal mechanisms that lead to divergent outcomes in critically ill patients, and at the same time different diseases may share common underlying, yet unidentified, causal pathways that could explain similarities between different diseases. Objective: To explore the association between patient characteristics and the severity of organ failure in critically ill patients admitted to the ICU Study design: Prospective cohort study Study population: Adult critically ill patients in the ICU Intervention (if applicable): not applicable Main study parameters/endpoints: Maximum severity of organ failure observed during ICU stay measured by the maximum SOFA score and quality of life at one year follow-up