A feasibility study of functional status and follow-up clinic preferences of patients at high risk of post intensive care syndrome

After prolonged mechanical ventilation patients may experience the 'post intensive care syndrome' (PICS) and may be candidates for post-discharge follow-up clinics. We aimed to ascertain the incidence and severity of PICS symptoms in patients surviving prolonged mechanical ventilation and to describe their views regarding follow-up clinics. In a teaching hospital, we conducted a cohort study of all adult patients discharged alive after ventilation in ICU for >=7 days during 2013. We administered the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) via telephone interview and asked patients their views about the possible utility of a follow-up clinic. We studied 48 patients. At follow-up (average 19.5 months), seven (15%) patients had died and 14 (29%) did not participate (eight declined; two were non-English speakers; four were non-contactable). Among the 27 responders, 16 (59%) reported at least moderate problems in >=1 EQ-5D dimension; 10 (37%) in >=2 dimensions, and 8 (30%) in >=3 dimensions. Moreover, 10 (37%) patients reported marked psychological symptoms; six (22%) scored borderline or abnormal on the HADS for both anxiety and depression; and four (15%) scored borderline or abnormal for one component. Finally, 21/26 (81%) patients stated that an ICU follow-up clinic would have been beneficial. At long-term follow-up, the majority of survivors of prolonged mechanical ventilation reported impaired quality of life and significant psychological symptoms. Most believed that a follow-up clinic would have been beneficial.