Evaluating Tele-ICU Implementation Based on Observed and Predicted ICU Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives: Past studies have examined numerous components of tele-ICU care to decipher which elements increase patient and institutional benefit. These factors include review of the patient chart within 1 hour, frequent collaborative data reviews, mechanisms for rapid laboratory/alert review, and interdisciplinary rounds. Previous meta-analyses have found an overall ICU mortality benefit implementing tele-ICU, however, subgroup analyses found few differences. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the effect of tele-ICU implementation with regard to ICU mortality and explore subgroup differences via observed and predicted mortality. Data Sources: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and European Society of Intensive Care Medicine for articles related to tele-ICU from inception to September 18, 2018. Study Selection: We included all trials meeting inclusion criteria which looked at the effect of tele-ICU implementation on ICU mortality. Data Extraction: We abstracted study characteristics, patient characteristics, severity of illness scores, and ICU mortality rates. Data Synthesis: We included 13 studies from 2,766 abstracts identified from our search strategy. The before-after tele-ICU implementation pooled odds ratio for overall ICU mortality was 0.75 (95% CI, 0.65–0.88; p

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