Discharge from the intensive care unit: Straight home or go to ward? A comparison of their admission and discharge characteristics

More patients are discharged directly to home (DDH) after intensive care admission. This single-centre study compared admission characteristics, length of stay and discharge outcomes of DDH patients after mechanical ventilation, compared to patients discharged to wards (DW). Of 161 eligible patients, 32.9% were DDH and 68.1% were DW. DDH patients were significantly younger with lower APACHE II scores. They were ventilated for a shorter length of time, and overall length of stay was 7 days shorter. Physical function scores (CPAx) were significantly higher in DDH. There were no differences in re-admission or 90-day mortality. In certain patients, discharge direct to home may be a safe option.