Visits to intensive care unit patients--frequency, duration and impact on outcome

The issue of the presence of patients' loved ones during their intensive care unit (ICU) stay is a frequently discussed topic among ICU staff. Today, ICU patients' loved ones are seen as important for the care of the patient. There is a gap in knowledge and research concerning the frequency and duration of visits by loved ones and the effect of such visits on patient outcome. The aim of this study was to explore the frequency and duration of loved ones' visits and whether or not such visits have an impact on patient outcome. A prospective, explorative observational study design was used. The sample included 198 ICU patients from a general ICU in Sweden. Twenty-five per cent of the patients had no visitors whatsoever. Forty-seven per cent of the patients who had visitors had visits of 2 h/day. The most frequent visitors were spouses and children. Significant differences between the groups were that the patients who had no visitors were older, had a shorter ICU stay, lower nine equivalents of nursing manpower score and more often lived alone. There were no significant differences in mortality and length of hospital stay over time. We could not establish that patients who had no visitors had a poorer outcome. Most of the older patients had no visitors, which indicates that elderly people may have a poorer social network; thus, there may be a greater need for professional caring relationships and care planning.