Discrepancy between Functional Outcomes and Perceived Health Post-Intensive Care Unit: A Prospective Cohort Study

Rationale: Despite functional impairments, intensive care unit (ICU) survivors can perceive their quality of life as acceptable. Objectives: To investigate discrepancies between calculated health, based on self-reported physical, mental, and cognitive functioning and perceived health, 1 year after ICU admission. Methods: Data from an ongoing prospective multicenter cohort study, MONITOR-IC, were used. Patient-reported physical, mental, and cognitive functioning and perceived health (EuroQol visual analog scale; range, 0-100) 1 year post-ICU of patients admitted to 1 of 11 participating ICUs between July 2016 and September 2021 were analyzed. The relationship between functional outcomes and perceived health was modeled using linear regression. Calculated health for each patient was estimated using this model and compared with patients' perceived health, the difference reflecting a discrepancy. On the basis of a minimal clinically important difference of 8 points, three groups were defined: patients who rated their health better than calculated (positive discrepancy), patients who rated their health worse than calculated (negative discrepancy), and patients whose perceived health was concordant with their calculated health. Results: A total of 2,545 patients were analyzed, of whom 45.0% (n = 1,146) showed a discrepancy between calculated and perceived health. Patients with a negative discrepancy rated their health significantly lower (median, 50; interquartile range, 36-66) than patients with a positive discrepancy (median, 84; interquartile range, 75-90). Importantly, there were no significant differences in physical, mental, and cognitive functioning between patients with a negative versus positive discrepancy. Patients with a negative discrepancy had a higher education level and were more often unemployed. Conclusions: One year post-ICU, almost half of ICU survivors showed a discrepancy between calculated health and perceived health.