Intensive care survivor-reported symptoms: a longitudinal study of survivors' symptoms

There is growing interest in potential long-term outcomes following intensive care, but few researchers have studied the prevalence of multiple symptoms or the association between pain and other symptoms.

To investigate the prevalence of anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among intensive care survivors 3 months and 1 year after being discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU) and to determine whether pain is associated with higher prevalence of these symptoms 3 months and 1 year after ICU stay.

Exploratory, longitudinal cohort of intensive care survivors from two mixed ICUs in a tertiary referral hospital in Norway.

Intensive care survivors completed surveys at 3 months (n = 118) and 1 year (n = 89) after ICU discharge. Clinical Trials: NCT02279212.

Prevalence rates of intensive care survivors' symptoms were pain 58 (49·2%), anxiety/depression 24/118 (20·8%), fatigue 18/118(15·3%), PTSS 15 (12·8%) and sleep disturbance 58/118 (49·2%) at 3 months after ICU discharge (n = 118). Prevalence rates at 1 year (n = 89) changed only slightly to pain 34 (38·2%), anxiety/depression 17 (20·0%), fatigue 12 (13·8%), PTSS 13 (15·1%) and sleep disturbance 40/89 (46·5%). Associations were strong between pain and presence of sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression, PTSS and fatigue.

Intensive care survivors have multiple symptoms and the prevalence rates of these symptoms remained almost unchanged from 3 months to 1 year after ICU discharge. The presence of pain was associated with high odds for the presence of sleep disturbance, anxiety/depression, PTSS and fatigue, compared to a no-pain group. ICU survivors may benefit from targeted interventions designed to alleviate the symptom burden.

Knowledge about ICU survivor's prevalence and risk for having multiple symptoms may help health care professionals to give better care, if needed, to the ICU survivors.