Anticipating ICU discharge and long-term follow-up

This review aims to summarize recent literature findings on long-term outcomes following critical illness and to highlight potential strategies for preventing and managing health deterioration in survivors of critical care.

A substantial number of critical care survivors experience new or exacerbated impairments in their physical, cognitive or mental health, commonly named as postintensive care syndrome (PICS). Furthermore, those who survive critical illness often face an elevated risk of adverse outcomes in the months following their hospital stay, including infections, cardiovascular events, rehospitalizations and increased mortality. These findings underscore the need for effective prevention and management of long-term health deterioration in the critical care setting. While robust evidence from well designed randomized clinical trials is limited, potential interventions encompass sedation limitation, early mobilization, delirium prevention and family presence during intensive care unit (ICU) stay, as well as multicomponent transition programs (from ICU to ward, and from hospital to home) and specialized posthospital discharge follow-up.

In this review, we offer a concise overview of recent insights into the long-term outcomes of critical care survivors and advancements in the prevention and management of health deterioration after critical illness.