Symptoms in Patients Receiving Noninvasive Ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Respiratory Therapy
• Patient Experience Research

Background:

• Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is effective for respiratory insufficiency, but patient experiences are understudied.
• Understanding patient-reported symptoms during NIV is crucial for developing supportive interventions.
• Improving the intensive care unit (ICU) experience for patients on NIV is a key clinical goal.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify the presence, intensity, and distress of symptoms in ICU patients receiving NIV.
• Describe the most common and distressing symptoms experienced by patients on NIV.
• Utilize a modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (MESAS) to quantify patient-symptom experience.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional descriptive study design.
• 114 English-speaking adult participants from three ICUs.
• Modified 11-item MESAS for symptom assessment; demographic and clinical data from electronic health records.

Main Results:

• Most common symptoms: thirst, anxiety, tiredness, and restlessness.
• These symptoms were rated as moderate to severe in intensity and distress.
• Bi-level positive airway pressure with a nasal/oral mask was the most frequent NIV type.

Conclusions:

• ICU patients on NIV experience significant and distressing symptoms.
• Further research is needed to understand symptom interrelatedness.
• Development of targeted interventions is warranted to manage patient-reported symptoms effectively.