Follow-up needs after paediatric critical care: A survey

Area of Science:

• Pediatric critical care medicine
• Healthcare outcomes research
• Caregiver support systems

Background:

• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) survivors often require ongoing medical and educational support.
• Caregiver needs and experiences post-PICU discharge are not fully understood.
• Existing healthcare utilization and return-to-school/work patterns after PICU admission warrant investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the perceived needs for follow-up care among caregivers of PICU survivors.
• To assess the actual follow-up care received by these patients.
• To explore healthcare usage, specialist follow-up, and return to school/work for patients and caregivers.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted with patients who survived a PICU admission.
• Exclusion criteria included short PICU stays (<24 hours) or expected non-survival.
• Descriptive statistics and Likert scale summaries were used to analyze survey data.

Main Results:

• 34% of children returning to school/daycare had not done so within 3 months of PICU discharge; 23% required new specialized education plans.
• 38% of employed caregivers missed over a month of work.
• 39% had scheduled hospital specialist follow-up, 53% had new allied health follow-up, and 84% would attend in-person PICU follow-up.

Conclusions:

• A significant need for post-PICU follow-up exists among caregivers.
• PICU survivors show ongoing healthcare needs and experience school absenteeism.
• Further research is essential to define optimal follow-up timing, format, and target populations.