ArticleLancet (London, England)2025
The African Critical Illness Outcomes Study (ACIOS): a point prevalence study of critical illness in 22 nations in Africa.
Article in Lancet (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cross-Sectional Survey of Critical Care Provision in Ministry of Health Hospitals in Zambia.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- One in seven has severe pain: a point-prevalence study of hospitalised patients across Africa.Pain · 2026Article
- Predictors of mortality among non-traumatic critically ill patients with electrolyte imbalances attending a Ugandan regional referral hospital Emergency Department.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2026Article
- The Start of a Good Innings, 50 Years of Intensive Care Medicine.World journal of surgery · 2026Review
- Critical care capacity in Africa: postpandemic ICU capacity, service readiness and patient profiles across public and private hospitals in Ethiopia.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Time-critical care gaps and systemic delays linked to higher mortality in severe trauma patients in Tanzania.BMC emergency medicine · 2026Observational
- Aetiology of sepsis in adults living with HIV in East Africa: a secondary analysis of an open-label, multicentre, randomised, controlled phase 3 trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Top ten research priorities for Essential Emergency and Critical Care: A modified Delphi process.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- A Reflection on Current Definitions of Critical Care and Critical Illness-A Narrative Review of the Literature.Nursing in critical care · 2026Review
- Acute pain and analgesic prescribing in trauma inpatients at a tertiary hospital: A cross-sectional study.Journal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa · 2026Article
- Article
- Advanced non-invasive respiratory support in resource-constrained settings: a narrative review.Critical care (London, England) · 2025Review
- Applying the three delays qualitative model to sepsis care seeking and emergency care in a private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Burden and Outcomes of Cardiovascular Diseases in the ICU of a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital.Cureus · 2025Article
- The Unmet Critical Care Burden at a Central Hospital in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Point Prevalence Study.World journal of surgery · 2025Article
- Confronting Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure in Africa: If Not Now, When?Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2025Article
- Rapid Response Teams in low and middle-income countries: a scoping review.Critical care science · 2025Article
- Early mobilisation practices in Windhoek intensive care units: A retrospective review of patient profiles and physiotherapy practice.The Southern African journal of critical care : the official journal of the Critical Care Society · 2025Article
- Diagnoses and critical care outcomes in a rural Tanzanian high dependency unit: A prospective cohort study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Insights into the Morbidities and Short-term outcomes of Hospitalised Male and Female Medical Patients in Nigeria: the MOHOPA study.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationReview
Corrections and comments
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- Erratum issued
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCritical illness represents a major global health-care burden and critical care is an essential component of hospital care. There are few data describing the prevalence, treatment, and outcomes of critically ill patients in African hospitals.
methodsThis was an international, prospective, point prevalence study in acute hospitals across Africa. Investigators examined all inpatients aged 18 years or older, regardless of location, to assess the coprimary outcomes of critical illness and 7-day mortality. Patients were classified as critically ill if at least one vital sign was severely deranged. Data were collected for the available resources at each hospital and care provided to patients.
findingsWe included 19 872 patients from 180 hospitals in 22 African countries or territories between September, 2023 and December, 2023. The median age was 40 (IQR 29-59) years, and 11 078/19 862 (55·8%) patients were women. There were 967/19 780 (4·9%) deaths. On census day, 2461/19 743 (12·5%) patients were critically ill, with 1688/2459 (68·6%) cared for in general wards. Among the critically ill, 507/2450 (20·7%) patients died in hospital. Mortality for non-critically ill patients was 458/17 205 (2·7%). Critical illness on census day was independently associated with subsequent in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio 7·72 [6·65-8·95]). Of the critically ill patients with respiratory failure, 557/1151 (48·4%) were receiving oxygen; of the patients with circulatory failure, 521/965 (54·0%) were receiving intravenous fluids or vasopressors; and of patients with low conscious level, 387/784 (49·4%) were receiving an airway intervention or placed in the recovery position.
interpretationOne in eight patients in hospitals in Africa are critically ill, of whom one in five dies within 7 days. Most critically ill patients are cared for in general wards, and most do not receive the essential emergency and critical care treatments they require. Our findings suggest a high burden of critical illness in Africa and that improving the care of critically ill patients would have the potential to save many lives.
fundingNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Group in Perioperative and Critical Care (NIHR133850).
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