[Sleep disorders in patients in recovery. Preliminary results in 20 patients]

Various aspects of the critically ill patient sharing pain, physical distress, anxiety, environmental components, predispose him to develop some sleep disorders (SD). We studied 20 conscious patients, age 16-80 (mean 48.15 SD of mean +/- 25), undergoing ICU mean 14.3 days (SD of mean +/- 7.5), to evaluate SD rate and their possible leading causes. Through Spearman Rank test SD was related to Apache II score, admission state anxiety, satisfactory sedation, days of ICU stay and age respectively. Conclusive results showed SD rate in all our patients. Excepted a statistical trend to significativity of SD versus satisfactory sedation: RS 0.311 (threshold value for 20 patients: 0.377), no relation was found between SD and data recorded. These preliminary results emphasize the importance of looking for SD in ICU patients though many factors may play a role to develop them.