Objective: To investigate the mortality rates and factors related to mortality in patients who are being followed in Intensive Care Units (ICU) due to neurological disorders and included in a rehabilitation program.
 

Materials and Methods: Patients who were hospitalized in the ICU and included in a rehabilitation program (n=340) were recruited for the study. Specific unit in which the patient was being followed, demographic characteristics, diagnoses, rehabilitation program initiation time, level of consciousness, respiratory status, presence of pressure ulcer and spasticity at the time of initial evaluation were recorded in the rehabilitation follow-up forms.
 

Results: The study population consisted of 125 women and 215 men with a mean age of 50.1±19 years. Mean rehabilitation initiation time was 6.6±6.2 days. In the initial evaluation 23 patients (6.8%) were found to have pressure ulcer and 43 patients (12.6%) spasticity. Mortality rate of the patients in the ICU was 38.2%. Significant correlations were found between mortality and age, rehabilitation initiation time, respiratory and consciousness status.
 

Conclusion: Mortality rates and related factors in ICU patients have previously been investigated in many studies. In this study, rehabilitation initiation time is found to be a mortality related factor for the patients being followed in ICU due to neurological disorders. To our knowledge, this study is the first report investigating mortality related factors in a Turkish university hospital ICU rehabilitation setting.