Preadmission Exposure to Air Pollution and 90-Day Mortality in Critically ill Patients: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the association between preadmission exposure to air pollutants and 90-day mortality in critically ill patients.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study analyzed the medical records of adult patients (more than or equal to 18 years) admitted to the intensive care unit of a tertiary academic hospital from 2015 to 2016.

RESULTS

Four air pollutants were not significantly associated with 90-day mortality and pulmonary disease-related 90-day mortality (P > 0.05). In patients with preadmission chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), a 1 ppm increase in ozone (O3) and carbon monoxide (CO) was associated with a 1.04-fold and 5.99-fold increase in pulmonary disease-related 90-day mortality, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Preadmission exposure to air pollution was not associated with 90-day mortality in critically ill patients. However, a higher concentration of CO and O3 was associated with an increase in pulmonary disease-related 90-day mortality in patients with preadmission COPD.