Assessment of the worldwide burden of critical illness: the Intensive Care Over Nations (ICON) audit

Background Global epidemiological data regarding outcomes for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are scarce, but are important in understanding the worldwide burden of critical illness. We, therefore, did an international audit of ICU patients worldwide and assessed variations between hospitals and countries in terms of ICU mortality. Methods 730 participating centres in 84 countries prospectively collected data on all adult (>16 years)...