I think there are a lot of parameter that can influence on ICU admission cut off point for short and long period definition .there are ICU wards also have multiple But overall 3 to7 days should be for short time and over 20 to 25 days for long time .
In my opinion, it should be adapted to each clinical entity. In a general way, short stay will be a LES shorter than 7 days, intermediate between 8 and 15 days, and long stay a LES greater than 15 days.
It is difficult to identify the cutoff point denoting the long stay in intensive care unit (ICU), however, a duration more than 7 days was associated with exhaustion of more than 50% of ICU resources.
the length of stay in ICU was 5 days which is the clinical threshold for concern about a prolonged ICU stay
I think that "short" and "long" period cut-off-point definition has little value in research. Less than 7-10 days (that is the median days in ICU worldwide) considered as short stay but still depends from a lot of parameters (i.e.median ICU LOS in your country).
hi Amr....In our Cardiac Surgical ICU.... we practise a protocol of fast tracking....the normal duration of stay post bypass is 24-48 hrs or less depending on their vitals and mobilisation.... we do not have a step down ICU... they are tranferred to the cardiac wards are once the drains come out.... they are observed for another day and discharged. So shortest is 48 hrs ( not for valve or other cases) and longest is more than a week.