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Objective: To evaluate the factors potentially associated with the decision of admission to the intensive care unit in Brazil.

Methods: An electronic survey of Brazilian physicians working in intensive care units. Fourteen variables that were potentially associated with the decision of admission to the intensive care unit were rated as important (from 1 to 5) by the respondents and were later grouped as “patient-related,”“scarcity-related” and “administrative-related” factors. The workplace and physician characteristics were evaluated for correlation with the factor ratings.

Results: During the study period, 125 physicians completed the survey. The scores on patient-related factors were rated higher on their potential to affect decisions than scarcity-related or administrative-related factors, with a mean±SD of 3.42±0.7, 2.75±0.7 and 2.87±0.7, respectively (p< 0.001). The patient’s underlying illness