[How do general surgery patients experience the intensive care unit? Results of a prospective observational study]

Subjective experiences of patients during their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) have so far rarely been described. The aim of this study was to analyze the experiences of patients during their stay in the ICU.

In a prospective study, 100 general surgical ICU patients were recorded consecutively. A questionnaire that covered a broad range of possible ICU experiences was handed out to patients shortly following their stay in ICU. At the same time, a questionnaire was given to the personnel of the ICU to investigate how well nurses and doctors were able to adopt the patients' perspectives of the ICU experience.

Concerning the physical symptoms, insomnia was to the fore (67% of patients). Despite pain medication, 25% of patients reported severe pain. The main psychological symptom was a feeling of helplessness (29% of patients). As a general cause for concern, 48% of patients complained about limited mobility. The patients were critical of the presence of severely ill patients. The standards of nursing and medical attention, however, were judged very positively. The evaluation of the staff differed from the patients' experiences in many respects; the clearest differences concerned the items of pain, sleeping disorders and the observance of privacy.

The study results led to several practical consequences in the quality of management procedure (e.g., the introduction of a thorough night's rest at the ICU, optimized information for patients). Additionally, we initiated further studies concerning the quality of life of ICU patients.