BackgroundBurnout appears to be common among critical care providers. It is characterized by three components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. Moral distress is the inability of a moral agent to act according to his or her core values and perceived obligations due to internal and external constraints. We aimed to estimate the correlation between moral distress and burnout among all intensive care unit (ICU) and the step-down unit (SDU) providers (physicians, nurses, nurse technicians and respiratory therapists).MethodsA survey was conducted from August to September 2015. For data collection, a self-administered questionnaire for each critical care provider was used including basic demographic data, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Moral Distress Scale-Revised (MDS-R). Correlation analysis between MBI domains and moral distress score and regression analysis to assess independent variables associated with burnout were performed.ResultsA total of 283 out of 389 (72.7%) critical care providers agreed to participate. The same team of physicians attended both ICU and SDU, and severe burnout was identified in 18.2% of them. Considering all others critical care providers of both units, we identified that overall 23.1% (95% CI 18.0–28.8%) presented severe burnout, and it did not differ between professional categories. The mean MDS-R rate for all ICU and SDU respondents was 111.5 and 104.5, respectively, p = 0.446. Many questions from MDS-R questionnaire were significantly associated with burnout, and those respondents with high MDS-R score (>100 points) were more likely to suffer from burnout (28.9 vs 14.4%, p = 0.010). After regression analysis, moral distress was independently associated with burnout (OR 2.4, CI 1.19–4.82, p = 0.014).ConclusionsMoral distress, resulting from therapeutic obstinacy and the provision of futile care, is an important issue among critical care providers’ team, and it was significantly associated with severe burnout.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13613-017-0293-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

IntroductionPatients and family members undergo different experiences of suffering from emotional disorders during ICU stay and after ICU discharge. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in pairs (patient and respective family member), during stay at an open visit ICU and at 30 and 90-days post-ICU discharge. We hypothesized that there was a positive correlation with the severity of symptoms among pairs and different patterns of suffering over time.MethodsA prospective study was conducted in a 22-bed adult general ICU including patients with >48 hours stay. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was completed by the pairs (patients/respective family member). Interviews were made by phone at 30 and 90-days post-ICU discharge using the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the HADS. Multivariate models were constructed to predict IES score at 30 days for patients and family members.ResultsFour hundred and seventy one family members and 289 patients were interviewed in the ICU forming 184 pairs for analysis. Regarding HADS score, patients presented less symptoms than family members of patients who survived and who deceased at 30 and 90-days (p<0.001). However, family members of patients who deceased scored higher anxiety and depression symptoms (p = 0.048) at 90-days when compared with family members of patients who survived. Patients and family members at 30-days had a similar IES score, but it was higher in family members at 90-days (p = 0.019). For both family members and patients, age and symptoms of anxiety and depression during ICU were the major determinants for PTSD at 30-days.ConclusionsAnxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms were higher in family members than in the patients. Furthermore, these symptoms in family members persisted at 3 months, while they decreased in patients.

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BackgroundAn intensive care unit (ICU) admission is a stressful event for the patient and the patient’s family. Several studies demonstrated symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder in family members of patients admitted to ICU. Some studies recognize that the open visitation policy (OVP) is related to a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression for the patient and an improvement in family satisfaction. However, some issues have been presented as barriers for the adoption of that strategy. This study was designed to evaluate perceptions of physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists (RTs) of an OVP and to quantify visiting times in a Brazilian private intensive care unit (ICU).MethodsThis observational and descriptive study was performed in the medical-surgical (22 beds) and neurologic ICU (8 beds) of Sírio-Libanês Hospital (HSL), São Paulo, Brazil. All physicians, nurses, and RTs from ICU were invited to participate in the study. A questionnaire was applied to all ICU workers who accepted to participate in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 22 questions about the visiting policy. During five consecutive days, we evaluated the time that the visitors stayed in the patient room, as well as the type of visitor.ResultsA total of 106 ICU workers participated in this study (42 physicians, 39 nurses, and 25 RTs). Only three of the questions exposed a negative perception of the visiting policy: 53.3% of the participants do not think that the OVP consistently increases family satisfaction with patient’s care; 59.4% of ICU workers think that the OVP impairs the organization of the patient’s care; 72.7% of participants believe that their work suffers more interruptions because of the OVP. The median visiting time per day was 11.5 hours.ConclusionsAccording to physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists, the greatest impact of OVP is the benefit to the patients rather than to the family or to the staff. Furthermore, they feel that they need communication training to better interact with family members who are present in the ICU 24 hours per day.