Cognitive Impairment, Physical Impairment, and Psychological Symptoms in Intensive Care Unit Survivors.

BACKGROUND: Post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) affects 25% to 50% of adults who survive an intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Although the compounding of PICS impairments (cognitive, physical, and psychological) could intensify the syndrome, research on relationships among impairments is limited, particularly in patients with delirium. OBJECTIVES: To examine associations among PICS impairments and examine delirium status and its relationship to PICS impairments at ICU discharge and 1 month later. METHODS: A descriptive, correlational study of adults who survived an ICU stay. Participants completed measures for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, physical function, functional status, and cognition at ICU discharge and 1 month later. Relationships among PICS impairments were examined with Spearman correlations; differences in impairments by delirium status were assessed with t tests. RESULTS: Of 50 enrolled participants, 46 were screened for PICS impairment at ICU discharge and 35 were screened 1 month later. Cognitive impairment was the most common impairment at both time points. A positive correlation was found between cognition and functional status at ICU discharge (ρ = 0.50, P = .001) and 1 month later (ρ = 0.54, P = .001). Cognition and physical functioning were positively correlated 1 month after discharge (ρ = 0.46, P = .006). The group with delirium had significantly lower functional status scores than the group without delirium at ICU discharge (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest a moderate correlation between cognitive and physical impairments. This relationship should be explored further; ICU survivors with undiagnosed cognitive impairment may have delayed physical recovery and greater risk for injury.

Delirium documentation in hospitalized pediatric patients with cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Screening tools for delirium are being used more consistently in pediatric critical care. However, screening is not universal, and delirium may be underdiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or undocumented in hospitalized patients. We evaluated the identification and documentation of delirium in pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients. METHOD: A retrospective chart review on all hospitalized pediatric oncology and bone marrow transplant patients admitted to an Academic Cancer center between 2013 and 2016. Patients aged less than 21 years of age with active cancer were included. Patients with major psychiatric conditions, developmental delays, or autism were excluded. Data were collected to characterize documentation concerning the identification and diagnosis of delirium. RESULTS: Of 201 hospitalization records, 54 (26.9%) admissions from 109 unique patients had documentation of delirium. The overall documented incidence of delirium was 3.2% of hospitalizations or 8.2% of unique patients. Patients prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines were more likely to have documentation of delirium. ICD coding under-reported delirium while physician documentation was inaccurate in 26% (53/201) when compared with the chart review. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Delirium was frequently undocumented or miscoded. Implementing a validated, universal screening tool for delirium may improve identification and clinical outcomes.

Relationship of symptoms associated with ICU-survivorship: An integrative literature review.

BACKGROUND: The number of adults who survive a critical illness involving admission to an intensive care unit is increasing. These survivors have an increased risk of developing impairments in cognition, physical function and psychological health. OBJECTIVE: This integrative literature review examined the literature for studies exploring the relationships among two or more of the variables of interest, i.e. cognitive, physical, and psychological symptoms (depressive, anxiety, or posttraumatic stress) in intensive care unit survivors post-hospital discharge. METHODS: A literature search was conducted using PubMed, CINHAL and PsycINFO databases. FINDINGS: While all 13 studies included in the review explored some aspect of a relationship among the variables of interest, none explored associations among all three variables. Five studies explored physical function and psychological symptoms, four studies explored cognitive impairment and psychological symptoms and five studies explored the association among different psychological symptoms. Inconsistencies were found in the study designs, follow-up time frames, patient populations and measures used. CONCLUSIONS: Further research using well-designed methodologies and standardized instruments is warranted. Gaining a better understanding of the relationships among these impairments has the potential to contribute to the development of screening guidelines, preventative strategies, and treatments.