Anest. intenziv. Med. 2012;23(2):75-81

Quality of life one year after discharge from the ICUIntensive Care Medicine - Original Paper

Židková Alexandra^*, Chytra Ivan, Šestáková Blanka, Kasal Eduard, Týblová Iveta

Anesteziologicko-resuscitační klinika, Fakultní nemocnice v Plzni, Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Lékařská fakulta v Plzni

Objective:
Assessment of the quality of life one year after ICU discharge.

Design:
Prospective observational study.
Setting:
Dept. of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine of University Hospital.

Materials and methods:
Quality of life before admission and one year after discharge from the ICU was assessed by EuroQoL-5D and State Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaires. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test, χ² and Fisher's exact test were used for statistical analysis with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the dependence of the single dimensions of quality of life on age, severity of the condition on admission to the ICU, length of ICU stay, length of mechanical ventilation, level of organ dysfunction and previous quality of life.

Results:
The questionnaires were sent to 483 patients of whom 194 (41.2%) responded. At one year from discharge all the dimensions of the EuroQoL-5D deteriorated. Mobility deteriorated by 20.1%, self-care deteriorated by 28.9%, daily activities deteriorated by 39.2%, pain by 44.8% and the feelings of anxiety by 29.9%. Increased anxiety in men (37.4%) and in women (21.1%) was confirmed by using the State Trait Anxiety Inventory questionnaire. All the mentioned changes were significant (p < 0.0001). Independent predictors of worsening of the quality of life were age, length of ICU stay, length of mechanical ventilation and presence of pain and anxiety before ICU admission.

Conclusion:
The stay on the ICU was associated with deterioration of the quality of life in all the evaluated aspects at one year after discharge. Quality of life after the discharge from the ICU was influenced by age, length of ICU stay, length of mechanical ventilation and previous quality of life.

Keywords: quality of life; intensive care; EuroQoL-5D; State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Received: January 13, 2012; Accepted: March 11, 2012; Published: April 1, 2012  Show citation