Transformation of patients profile admitted to an Intermediate respiratory care unit (IRCU) from a tertiary hospital in Barcelona one-year after COVID-19 pandemic

<bold>Introduction:</bold> The IRCU admits patients with acute or acute-on-chronic respiratory failure whose treatment require non-invasive respiratory therapies. The objective of the study is to describe the clinical profiles of patients admitted to the IRCU 1-year after the pandemic and to identify new pathologies that could benefit from IRCU admission. <bold>Methodology:</bold> An observational retrospective study was conducted including patients admitted to the IRCU of Bellvitge hospital in Barcelona from January 2023 to November 2023. Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation for continuous variables and frequency (percentage) for categorical variables. <bold>Results:</bold> Table 1 displays results of the patients. Table 2 shows reasons for IRCU admission, NRT required and relative mortality rates. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA3484/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA3484/F2</object-id><object-id>F2</object-id><object-id>F2</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> <bold>Conclusions:</bold> One-year after pandemics, at Bellvitge’s IRCU: 1) Acute NIV is the main respiratory support in one third of the patients. 2) Severe CAP has become a major group. 3) Tertiary referral for IRCU management is high (54% of patients come from the related-hospital healthcare region and 9% from others).