Cutoff Values for Screening Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Using the Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Patient Outcomes Research

Background:

• Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) significantly impacts over 50% of ICU survivors.
• The Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Questionnaire (PICSQ) lacks validated cutoff values for effective screening.
• Early identification of PICS is crucial for mitigating long-term health impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine optimal cutoff values for the mental, physical, and cognitive domains of the PICSQ.
• To facilitate early and accurate screening of PICS in intensive care unit survivors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses on data from 475 ICU survivors.
• Employed criterion tools including HADS, PDS, ADL, and MoCA for validation.
• Assessed quality of life and hospital readmission rates based on PICSQ cutoff classifications.

Main Results:

• Identified optimal PICSQ cutoff values: ≥3 for mental, ≥7 for physical, and ≥2 for cognitive domains.
• Achieved high diagnostic accuracy with AUC values of 0.83 (mental), 0.84 (physical), and 0.80 (cognitive).
• Higher PICSQ scores correlated with significantly reduced quality of life and increased hospital readmissions.

Conclusions:

• The established PICSQ cutoff values can aid in the early screening of PICS.
• Timely PICS identification through these cutoffs can lead to prompt interventions and improved patient outcomes.
• Further validation in diverse populations is recommended to broaden the applicability of these findings.