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Distressful events in the ICU as perceived by patients recovering from coronary artery bypass surgery
B E Pennock1, L Crawshaw, T Maher
1Department of Medicine, Medical College of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh.
Objective:
To determine what events are perceived as most stressful to patients in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU).
Design:
Descriptive cross-sectional survey.
Patients:
One hundred twenty-seven patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) at 48 hours after their transfer from the SICU.
Outcome Measure:
Stressful events as perceived by patients while in the SICU determined by 25 specific items on a questionnaire rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (no distress) to 4 (extremely distressful).
Results:
Two stressors, being intubated and not being able to talk, were significantly more stressful, by Newman-Keuls multiple range test, than all the other stressors. The mean stressfulness score for all other stressors was between no distress and mild distress.
Conclusion:
Overall stress associated with specific events during a short stay in the SICU was minimal. Intubation and inability to communicate were the most stressful experiences.