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.