Intensive Care Unit Resource Management in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: To analyze resource management aspects in intensive care units (ICU) in times of COVID-19 in Cariri microregion of Ceará. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study in four hospitals in the Cariri microregion, with 91 professionals from interdisciplinary teams who have been working in the ICU since the beginning of the pandemic. Research was conducted through email, Instagram and/or WhatsApp and the data were analyzed in the chi-square test, T-test and cluster chart. Results: Regarding human resources, 73.6 % of professionals took a course on patient management in ICU during COVID-19 and 67.0 % on control of healthcare-associated infections. Of these professionals, 64.8 % were able to deal with the difficulties in the ICU, 69.2 % were relocated from other hospital sectors to meet ICU demands and most professionals (76.9 %) did not have psychological support for the pandemic. In structural resources, 100 % of adult ICU beds were occupied during the pandemic, presenting a difference between before and during, during and after the crisis with an exponential increase in bed capacity (p<0.001), and showing no significant differences in moments before and after the pandemic (p=0.035). Material resources were in short supply and decreased, such as personal protective equipment, oxygen, medicines, among others. Conclusion: Identifying the reorganization of human, material and structural resources was possible in the researched hospitals. There has been an exponential increase in beds during the pandemic crisis when compared to the capacity reported by staff from moments before the pandemic. Therefore, this research contributes to the knowledge of health management and hospital restructuring in pandemic times.