Trends in maternal ICU admissions at a quaternary centre in Montreal, Canada, and impact of maternal age on critical care outcomes

Abstract

Background Advancing maternal age is increasingly prevalent and is associated with severe maternal morbidity often requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Objectives To describe maternal ICU admissions at a quaternary care hospital in Montreal, Canada, and evaluate the association between maternal age and composite of: need for invasive interventions, ICU stay > 48 h, or maternal death. Methods Chart review of ICU admissions during pregnancy/postpartum (2006–2016); logistic regressions to evaluate the impact of age on outcomes. Results With 5.1 ICU admissions per 1000 deliveries, we included 187 women (mean age 32 ± 6.3 years; 20 (10.7%) ≥ 40 years). The composite outcome occurred in 105 (56.2%) patients; there were two maternal deaths. Age ≥ 40 years increased the odds of invasive interventions (OR 4.03; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15–14.1) but not of the composite outcome (OR 2.30; 95% CI 0.66–8.02). Conclusion Peripartum women aged ≥ 40 years had worse outcomes in ICU, with an increased need for invasive interventions.