Health-related quality of life after obstetric intensive care admission: Comparison with the general population

To examine health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in obstetric patients after intensive care discharge, with comparison to age-appropriate reference values from the general Finnish female population.

Retrospective register-based study. Four multidisciplinary intensive care units at Finnish university hospitals participated.

A total of 291 obstetric patient were admitted to the ICU, of whom 114 (39%) completed follow-up measurements. At baseline (pre-intensive care admission), patients showed lower physical (mobility, self-care, pain/discomfort) and social (usual activities) dimensions compared to reference values. Baseline overall health status (EQsum) was lower than reference values. However EQsum increased over six months (mean, 0.907 to 0.946) such that follow-up values were similar to reference values. At follow-up, 18.4% of patients showed poorer HRQoL (mean, 0.764; range, 0.638-0.885) compared to reference values. Multiparous patients showed lower scores than primiparous patients. EQ VAS scores were lower at baseline, but increased over six months (72.12 to 87.5) such that follow-up values were similar to reference values.

The baseline HRQoL of study population was lower than that of the general population, but after six months, the mean values were comparable to reference value. However, one in five patients still experienced impaired QOL at follow-up.