A retrospectively designed prospective cohort study has shown that Māori are more likely to be admitted to intensive care units after trauma or with sepsis than European patients, and are more likely to die within 180 days. The study used data from the Ministry of Health National Minimum Dataset matched to the Australia New Zealand Intensive Care Society Centre for Outcome and Resource Evaluation Adult Patient Database. On average, Māori admitted to intensive care units were 13 years younger than European patients. Of 9681 Māori patients and 42,781 European patients, 10% and 5.2%, respectively, were admitted after trauma, and 7.6% and 4.4%, respectively, with sepsis. The odds of dying with 180 days of intensive care unit admission was 1.08 (95% CI 1.02-1.15) for Māori vs European patients. When adjusted for age, the risk of dying increased substantially, but decreased after adjustment for admission source and type, and after accounting for Māori having a higher comorbidity index and more severe illness than European patients. In the final model, after adjustment for all specified variables, Māori ethnicity was not associated with mortality at 180 days.
