Aerobic exercise capacity in long-term survivors of critical illness: secondary analysis of the post-EPaNIC follow-up study

Purpose To evaluate aerobic exercise capacity in 5-year intensive care unit (ICU) survivors and to assess the association between severity of organ failure in ICU and exercise capacity up to 5-year follow-up. Methods Secondary analysis of the EPaNIC follow-up cohort (NCT00512122) including 433 patients screened with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) between 1 and 5 years following ICU admission. Exercise capacity in 5-year ICU survivors ( N = 361) was referenced to a historic sedentary population and further compared to demographically matched controls ( N = 49). In 5-year ICU survivors performing a maximal CPET (respiratory exchange ratio > 1.05, N = 313), abnormal exercise capacity was defined as peak oxygen consumption (VO 2 peak)