The trial is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, identification no. NCT01721239.

Background and purpose of study Transition from the intensive care unit to the hospital ward can be considered as a vulnerable period for patients as nursing care changes hands. How the transition is experienced by the ICU patient and the family is influenced by how it is organised, communicated and executed. The transition may positively or negatively affect patient recovery. Aim To explore the experiences of intensive care unit patients and their relatives during the transition to hospital ward in order to find ways of supporting them during the transition process. Methods Eligible participants were asked for participation from April to September 2016 from a mixed medical and surgical intensive care unit (Level II) at a university hospital. We conducted six semi‐structured interviews with former intensive care unit patients and four dyad interviews with patients and spouses. Data were analysed according to the methodology Interpretive Description with the aim to discover associations, relationships and patterns within the phenomenon. Results Our analysis revealed the following three themes: (1) Taking up the mantel (2) Adjusting to ‘being one in the crowd’ and (3) Integrated spouses became visitors. It was a change from an environment with high dependence to increasing independence and a shift from attention to loneliness. Focus moved from the bodily functions to basic activities of living. Spouses experienced that their position was reduced from integrated relatives in the intensive care unit to visitors of the hospital ward. Conclusions This article shows that it is important to mentally prepare patients and their family for transfer and a gradual withdrawal of intense nursing observation and monitoring. Discharge planning should begin early and involve spouses to a higher extent as they have a major role in the recovery process far beyond hospitalisation.

A study of the extent of homelessness among 1581 psychiatric patients in Copenhagen found that 342 patients (22%) in contact with the psychiatric services had serious housing problems. A total of 112 (7%) were long-stay patients without a home address, 134 (8%) were in an unstable housing situation and 96 (6%) were actually homeless. The homeless among the psychiatric patients were characteristically single, on disability pension or general public assistance, most often under 45 years of age, often schizophrenic and, among the men, almost one third were alcohol abusers. The majority of the homeless preferred separate apartments, and the psychiatrists also considered this form of housing to be the most appropriate for them. Approximately one fifth were estimated to need staff-supported housing, and the number of places in psychiatric group homes or halfway houses should therefore be increased.

Background: The long-term effects of stress ulcer prophylaxis with pantoprazole are unknown in ICU patients. We report 1-year mortality outcome in the Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis in the Intensive Care Unit (SUP-ICU) trial. Methods: In the SUP-ICU trial, acutely admitted adult ICU patients at risk of gastrointestinal bleeding were randomised to intravenous pantoprazole 40 mg vs placebo | 1185 MARKER Et Al.