Ventilated patients' self-esteem during intubation and after extubation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Nursing

Background:

• Hospitalized patients undergoing intubation face potential impacts on their psychological well-being.
• Self-esteem is a crucial aspect of patient mental health during critical care.
• Understanding fluctuations in self-esteem is vital for patient care and recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in patient self-esteem from intubation to extubation.
• To compare self-esteem levels between patients intubated for medical versus surgical reasons.
• To control for patient acuity when assessing self-esteem differences.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive longitudinal study design was employed.
• Self-esteem was measured in 29 subjects during intubation and after extubation.
• Repeated measures analyses of covariance and multivariate analysis of variance were utilized.

Main Results:

• Overall self-esteem was significantly higher after extubation when controlling for acuity.
• A significant interaction effect was found based on the reason for intubation.
• Medical patients demonstrated an increase in self-esteem over time, with lower levels during intubation.

Conclusions:

• Patient self-esteem is dynamic and can change significantly during the course of hospitalization and mechanical ventilation.
• The reason for intubation (medical vs. surgical) influences self-esteem trajectories.
• Findings have implications for clinical practice and future research on patient psychological support.