Increased co-morbidity of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and common risk factors in intensive care unit survivors: A two-year follow-up study

Abstract

During ICU admissions efforts should be made towards identifying and psychologically supporting those patients with a previous history of a psychiatric disease, as they are at considerably higher risk of suffering from the long-term psychological sequelae of ICU admission.

Health‐promoting conversations—A novel approach to families experiencing critical illness in the ICU environment

“…Advanced treatment of critical illness during intensive care has enabled an increasing number of patients to survive (Oeyen, Vandijck, Benoit, Annemans, & Decruyenaere, ). Approximately 17%–48% of patients who survive experience postdischarge consequences, such as symptoms of post‐traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, nightmares and hallucinations (Davydow, Katon, & Zatzick, ; Myhren et al., ), up to 18–24 months after discharge (Paparrigopoulos et al., ). Impairments that occur during postintensive care and have been described as new or worsened health problems include physical, cognitive and mental health difficulties and have been defined as part of a “postintensive care syndrome” that may also affect close family members (Elliott et al., ).…”

Trauma- and distress-associated mental illness symptoms in close relatives of patients with severe traumatic brain injury and high-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage

“…Thus, the markedly increased prevalence compared to CR of patients with less severe brain injury in the previous studies might be connected with the initial threatening confrontation with the serious condition of the selected patients and due to the lasting period of uncertain prognosis. One previous study focusing on detecting the prevalence of mental illness symptoms of CR on general ICUs at the beginning and at the end of the acute treatment showed even higher rates of abnormal scores (59-97 %) in a small number of CR [26]. Deductively, the common stress reaction of CR during the acute treatment of critically ill patients seems to lead to very high rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depression scores but may decrease over time in the following weeks and months.…”

“…Previous studies have focused on CR of patients with unselected diagnoses and courses of disease that were treated on general surgical and medical ICUs [4,17,24,26,35]. Azoulay et al found post-traumatic stress symptoms consistent with a moderate to major risk of PTSD in 94 of 284 (33.1 %) family members [4].…”

Factors associated with non‐response at health‐related quality of life follow‐up in a septic shock trial

“…Septic shock is associated with long‐term morbidity including new or aggravated physical and mental disabilities, which may negatively impact the survivors for years after discharge …”