Extreme ICU: 5 percent of patients account for 33 percent of intensive care, need special focus

Every hospital’s ICU has treated them — the critically ill patients who spend weeks going from crisis to crisis, never quite getting better enough to get out of the ICU, but never quite dying. Now, research shows they really are a different kind of patient — and that despite their tiny numbers, they’re using a vast chunk of healthcare resources. Just 5 percent of ICU patients account for 33 percent of all days ICU beds get used, report investigators.