During the study period, 1,774 patients were admitted to the study ICU ( Table 2 ). The mean age of the study patients was 35.5 ears. The majority of the patients (56.5%) were male. Indigenous Ugandans accounted for the majority (92.8%) of the patients. Upcountry referrals constituted 42.9%, and the remaining patients were from within and around Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The mean mortality rate over the 7-year period was 40.1% (n = 715) ( Table 3 ). The highest mortality rate (44%) was observed in 2004; the lowest mortality rate (33.2%) was observed in 2005. Children (age <18 years) accounted for 11.6% of admissions, and their mortality rate was 40.1%, with paediatric post-operative admissions being higher than paediatric medical admissions.