Abstract
In 2016 a new, improved and modern intensive care unit was constructed at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. Having been operational for about 4 years, there has not been a systematic audit to gauge its performance. Therefore, this a quantitative retrospective cohort study aimed at investigating the performance of the intensive care unit at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi. We analysed the patterns of admission through 250 clinical cases and their respective outcomes spanning from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019 using STATA. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed. Out of the 250 admissions, we evaluated 249 samples. About 30.8% of all patients were referred from the main operating theatre, 20.7% from the casualty and 10.5% from maternity high dependence unit. Head injury (26.7%) and peritonitis (15.7%) were the commonest causes of admission. The overall mortality was 52% with more females (57.5%) dying than males (47.9%). Head injury and peritonitis had the highest contribution to the mortality accounting for 25.3% and 16.9% of all deaths respectively. In conclusion, the intensive care unit registered an improved performance compared to previous years. However, it is still grappling with a number of challenges that need immediate attention including few working beds, shortage of critical care specialists and nursing staff and lack of standard admission criteria.