Objective:

To investigate the profile of patients admitted to an intensive care unit of a hospital in Paraíba in Brazil.

Method:

This is a retrospective documentary study, with a quantitative approach, carried out in the Intensive Care Unit of a general hospital. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequency and the chi-square test for comparison.

Results:

From a sample of 461 patients, there was a higher frequency in the age group between 71 and 80 years, 50.8% women, 43.4% coming from emergency and diagnoses related to cardiovascular diseases with 28%. Regarding their evolution, 45.3% were discharged, 52% died, 2% were transferred and 0.7% remained in the Unit. Of these, 71.1% did not present pressure injuries when admitted.

Conclusión:

Most of the patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit are elderly, with comorbidities, with gender equivalence. It is noteworthy that the information acquired in the study can contribute to assistance, financial and permanent education in service planning.