[Psychiatric problems and sleep disorders in surgical intensive care. A polygraphic study: 8 cases]

The patients hospitalized in intensive care units present sleep disorders, mainly a sleep deprivation, particularly in paradoxical sleep. Both on the experimental and clinical plan sleep deprivation has been considered to be responsible for psychotic disorders. Over the past fifteen years these results have been controversial. Polygraphic study of sleep in eight patients hospitalized in a post-operative intensive care unit confirmed this nightly sleep deprivation; the deep slow wave sleep decreases and there is often a lack of paradoxical sleep. Analysis of these eight cases corroborates the latest experimental résults on sleep deprivation and current methodological considerations. Sleep deprivation in itself does not seem to lead to major psychiatric disorders but it is one of the factors, contributing to genesis of psychiatric troubles in an intensive care unit. The other ones that have been suggested (environment, somatic pathology, psychological ill effects due to the hospitalization) are also quite important.