Clinical Outcomes Following Direct Discharge Home From an Intensive Care Unit: A Single-Center Retrospective Observational Study

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) at intensive care unit (ICU) discharge and caregiver-related factors with clinical outcomes following direct discharge home (DDH).Method: This retrospective observational study included 60 adult ICU patients who were discharged directly home after at least 24 hours of clinical stability.Demographic characteristics, ICU admission diagnosis, comorbidities, APACHE II and MEWS at discharge, ICU length of stay, transfer characteristics, 28-day mortality, and ICU readmission were evaluated.Caregiver training and post-discharge care conditions were also recorded.Results: Sixty patients were included.Ward bed unavailability was recorded in 54 of the 60 patients (90.0%) during the direct discharge home process.The ICU readmission rate was 21.7% and the 28-day mortality rate was 16.7%.No significant associations were found between MEWS, ICU length of stay, or comorbidity burden and either mortality or ICU readmission (p>0.05).Conclusion: This study describes outcomes following DDH in selected ICU patients.MEWS at discharge was not significantly associated with mortality or ICU readmission.Discharge assessment should incorporate clinical status and post-discharge support.Without a ward-transfer comparison group, these findings cannot establish the comparative safety of DDH.