Physical, Cognitive, and Psychological Disability Following Critical Illness: What Is the Risk?

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Intensive care unit (ICU) survivorship
• Patient outcomes research

Background:

• Millions of individuals experience critical illnesses annually in the U.S.
• Advances in patient care are increasing the number of critical illness survivors.
• Critical illness survivors often face significant physical, cognitive, and psychological challenges, a condition known as post-intensive care syndrome (PICS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore barriers and facilitators to enhancing patient care for critical illness survivors.
• To address the multifaceted challenges of PICS affecting patients and their family caregivers.
• To inform the development of optimal protocols for improving survivor outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on critical illness survivorship.
• Analysis of factors influencing patient care in critical care settings.
• Examination of physical, cognitive, and psychological domains affected by critical illness and ICU stay.

Main Results:

• Organizational change is crucial for improving survivor outcomes, but specific components remain undefined.
• Numerous barriers and facilitators exist in critical care environments that impact patient care.
• PICS affects patients and their family caregivers across physical, cognitive, and psychological dimensions.

Conclusions:

• Further research is needed to establish ideal protocols for post-intensive care syndrome management.
• Addressing PICS requires a comprehensive approach considering the patient and family caregiver experience.
• Enhancing critical care environments can mitigate long-term survivorship challenges.